WALES

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether her Department has switched its (a) gas or (b) electricity supplier in any of the last 10 years.

David Jones: Electricity for the Wales Office's London building is supplied under a Ministry of Justice contract and the supplier has not changed during the period requested.
	The Wales Office is not supplied with gas.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales which energy supplier supplies her Department with (a) gas and (b) electricity.

David Jones: Electricity for the Wales Office's London building is supplied by British Gas under a Ministry of Justice contract. Energy for the Department's Cardiff leased office space is provided for the building as a whole by the Landlord.
	The Wales Office is not supplied with gas.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department has spent on its (a) gas and (b) electricity bills in each of the last 10 years.

David Jones: The Wales Office holds information on spends against electricity from financial year 2004-05. The total spends for each year is shown as follows:
	
		
			  Electricity (£) 
			 2004-05 5,308 
			 2005-06 4,132 
			 2006-07 5,054 
			 2007-08 4,007 
			 2008-09 7,416 
			 2009-10 9,730 
			 2010-11 12,468 
			 2011-12 -6.078 
		
	
	The Wales Office does not have a gas supply.

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many procurement card holders in her Department were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

David Jones: One part-time and one non-permanent member of staff held Government procurement cards in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The Wales Office does not pay any staff off-payroll.

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on which dates her Department has published Government procurement card spending over £500 since May 2010.

David Jones: In line with Cabinet Office guidelines the Wales Office first published procurement card spending on both the Wales Office and Data.Gov websites on 30 September 2011. Since that date, data on spend exceeding £500 has been published quarterly. We most recently published data on 8 March 2012.

Tanks

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the future of tank regiments in Wales.

Cheryl Gillan: I have had a number of discussions about the structure of regiments in Wales as part of the study into the Army's future force structure. The outcome of the study will be announced once decisions have been made. Until then it is not possible to comment on which specific units may be affected.

CABINET OFFICE

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how much has spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity bills for the Deputy Prime Minister's office since May 2011;
	(2)  how much his Department has spent on its (a) gas and (b) electricity bills for the Prime Minister's Office in each of the last 10 years.

Francis Maude: The Prime Minister's Office and Deputy Prime Minister’s are integral parts of the Cabinet Office.
	Corona Energy and Shell supply gas while EDF Energy, British Gas and Npower supply electricity to the Department.
	The central London Cabinet Office estate and Rosebery Court have retained the same gas and electricity suppliers for the last 10 years while the Central Office of Information switched suppliers in 2005 and the Emergency Planning College, York, in 2011.
	The amount spent on gas and electricity over the last 10 years can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Public Services: Transparency

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2012, Official Report, column 1074W, on public services, what transparency commitments the Department for Work and Pensions is being required to follow; and on what date they were set.

Francis Maude: Transparency commitments related to Government spend were set out in the Prime Minister's letters of 31 May 2010 and 7 July 2011.

Public Policy Research: Members

Christopher Chope: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make it his policy that his Department will not commission or fund research into the opinions of hon. Members on issues of public policy; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: holding answer 11 June 2012
	Commissioning of research and the proposed field for the research will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many young people have been unemployed for more than a year in (a) England, (b) the west midlands and (c) south Birmingham.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated June 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many young people have been unemployed for more than a year in (a) England; (b) the West Midlands and (c) South Birmingham. (113840)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS).
	Table 1 shows the number of people aged 16 to 24 who have been unemployed for more than 12 months in England and the West Midlands, from the APS, for the 12 month period ending March 2012, which is the latest available estimate. However, due to small sample sizes estimates of the number of people aged 16 to 24 claiming for more than a year resident in South Birmingham are not available.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of people aged 16 to 24 resident in England and the west midlands who are unemployed for more than a year 
			 Thousand 
			 12 months ending March 2012 Level 
			 England *193 
			 West Midlands ***23 
			 South Birmingham ****(1)— 
			 (1) Data has not been supplied as it has been classed as unreliable. Note: Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See following Guide to Quality. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 = CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 = CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 = CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. Source: Annual Population Survey

SCOTLAND

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department has switched its (a) gas or (b) electricity supplier in any of the last 10 years.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has changed its gas and electricity suppliers on a number of occasions in the last 10 years.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which energy supplier supplies his Department with (a) gas and (b) electricity.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office is supplied with gas by Total and with electricity by Scottish Power and British Gas.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has spent on its (a) gas and (b) electricity bills in each of the last 10 years.

Michael Moore: The Scotland Office spend on gas and electricity in the last ten years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Electricity Gas 
			 2002-03 28,439 88,244 
			 2003-04 23,703 88,085 
			 2004-05 23,372 96,362 
			 2005-06 21,650 106,883 
			 2006-07 36,488 105,968 
			 2007-08 26,481 78,669 
			 2008-09 30,728 100,262 
			 2009-10 33,809 63,057 
			 2010-11 22,315 89,435 
			 2011-12 19,733 69,517

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many procurement card holders in his Department were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Michael Moore: All Scotland Office staff are paid through payroll. None of the staff who hold procurement cards are either part time or non-permanent employees.

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on which dates his Department has published Government procurement card spending over £500 since May 2010.

Michael Moore: The Scotland Office has published the dates of publication of its Government procurement card spending over £500 since May 2010 on the Office's website alongside the data:
	http://www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/scotlandoffice/16203.html

NORTHERN IRELAND

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether his Department has switched its (a) gas or (b) electricity supplier in any of the last 10 years.

Owen Paterson: My Department has not switched either its gas or electricity supplier in any of the last 10 years.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which energy supplier supplies his Department with (a) gas and (b) electricity.

Owen Paterson: The following suppliers provide my Department with gas and electricity:
	Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Electricity and Phoenix Gas
	London: EDF and British Gas

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on its (a) gas and (b) electricity bills in each of the last 10 years.

Owen Paterson: Figures are only comparable from devolution in April 2010. Since this date my Department has spent the following amount on gas and electricity.
	Electricity: £465,950
	Gas: £86,163
	These figures cover the period April 2010-31 May 2012.

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many procurement card holders in his Department were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Owen Paterson: Comparable figures for the Department as it is now configured are not available following the completion of devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010.
	Prior to this year the Northern Ireland Office's finance function was delivered by the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland; my Department therefore has information only in relation to 2011-12 which is as follows:
	(a) None
	(b) One
	(c) None

Northern Ireland Grand Committee

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the Government's policy is on the role of the Northern Ireland Grand Committee.

Owen Paterson: We believe that the Northern Ireland Grand Committee can play an important role in facilitating debate on Northern Ireland issues. For example, since May 2010 the Government has held Grand Committee debates on the implications for Northern Ireland of the comprehensive spending review and the big society agenda.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Green Belt

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he expects new areas of land to be designated as green belt following the publication of the National Planning Policy Framework.

Greg Clark: It is for local authorities to decide if they want to designate new areas of green belt, and if so to take proposals through the Local Plan process which includes public consultation and an independent examination. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out policy on green belt in Section 9 of the document.

Green Belt

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on (a) new settlements and (b) urban extensions in green belts.

Greg Clark: As with previous policy on the green belt, the National Planning Policy Framework maintains that inappropriate development is, by definition, harmful to the green belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances.
	The Framework sets out that when considering any planning application, local planning authorities should ensure that substantial weight is given to any harm to the green belt. 'Very special circumstances' will not exist unless the potential harm to the green belt by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations. Local planning authorities should regard the construction of new buildings as inappropriate in green belt. Exceptions to this can be found listed in paragraph 89 of the Framework.

Housing: Construction

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes are included in the schemes shortlisted for the Get Britain Building programme in each region.

Grant Shapps: The Get Britain Building scheme is designed to unlock locally-backed stalled sites with planning permission to help restart construction activity. There is no requirement for bids to include affordable units, although the outstanding planning consent granted by the local authority may require affordable units, reflecting local planning policies.
	A contributing factor for sites being stalled may be due to economically unrealistic section 106 agreements negotiated at the height of the housing boom—resulting in no development, no regeneration and no community benefits at all. As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 23 March 2011, Official Report, columns 57-58WS, Ministers have encouraged councils to consider such unviable agreements to help facilitate development, particularly on stalled sites. As outlined in November 2011’s Housing Strategy, we intend to take further steps to help unlock sites in this regard.
	The total number of affordable homes included in Expressions of Interest short listed for Get Britain Building funding in March 2012 was 1,878. These are broken down by Homes and Communities Agency operating area in the following table:
	
		
			 Homes and Communities Agency operating area Number of affordable homes 
			 East and South East 229 
			 London 526 
			 Midlands 376 
			 North East, Yorkshire and the Humber 263 
			 North West 117 
			 South and South West 367 
		
	
	This table is only for first round, shortlisted Expressions of Interest; the completions are likely to be lower than Expressions of Interest, in part due to the due diligence and contract agreement process. The prospectus for the second round was published by the Homes and Communities Agency on 21 June 2012.

Planning Permission

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how he proposes that neighbourhood forums and neighbourhood plans developed in areas not represented by parish or town councils will be funded.

Bob Neill: The Government have committed to providing up to £50 million until March 2015 to support local councils in making neighbourhood planning a success. As part of this in 2011-12 the neighbourhood planning front runners programme made available £4.66 million to local planning authorities to support the development of neighbourhood plans. We are considering funding options for 2012-13, 2014-15 and 2015-16 and will make an announcement in due course.
	The Department has made available £4.25 million to date to four organisations (the Prince's Foundation for Building Community; the Royal Town Planning Institute; Locality (the Building Communities Consortium) and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (working with National Association of Local Councils) as part of the Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning scheme to enable communities that wish to engage in planning at either the neighbourhood or local level to access free advice and support. Local businesses, landowners and developers may also be interested in sponsoring and taking a role in neighbourhood planning.
	Further information about neighbourhood planning is available at
	http://communityrights.communities.gov.uk/what-are-community-rights/neighbourhood-planning

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  whether the Law Officers' Departments have switched (a) gas or (b) electricity supplier in any of the last 10 years;
	(2)  which energy supplier supplies the Law Officers' Departments with (a) gas and (b) electricity.

Dominic Grieve: The Treasury Solicitors Department manages the gas and electricity suppliers for the Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol), HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) and (since May 2007) the Attorney-General's Office (AGO). The AGO does not hold any information on energy suppliers prior to this date.
	The following is a list of these suppliers for the past 10 years:
	Electricity
	TSol: Queen Anne's Chambers
	2002-05 London Energy and London Electricity.
	TSol: One Kemble Street
	2005-06 E.ON
	2007-08 SWALEC
	2008-09 npower
	2009 to present EDF.
	TSol: Riverside Chambers Taunton
	2002-04 South Western Electricity
	2004 to present British Gas.
	TSol: Southern House Croydon
	2010-present E.ON.
	HMCPSI: Old Queen Street (to 2011)
	EDF.
	AGO: Victoria Street (from May 2007)
	EDF.
	Gas
	TSol: Queen Anne's Chambers
	2002-05 Corona Energy.
	TSol: One Kemble Street
	No gas supplied to this building.
	TSol: Riverside Chambers Taunton
	2002 to present Corona Energy.
	TSol: Southern House Croydon
	2010 to present Gazprom.
	HMCPSI: Old Queen Street (to 2011)
	Corona.
	AGO: Victoria Street (from May 2007)
	E.ON (standing charge only).
	The SFO currently has two sites, Elm House on Elm Street and part of the ITN building on Gray's Inn Road.
	At Elm House, gas is supplied by Corona and electricity is supplied by EDF Energy. These suppliers have provided the gas and electricity for the last 10 years as part of the Government Procurement Service framework agreements. For the ITN building, the SFO pays the managing agent for its energy consumption through the service charge for this property. The SFO has used this building only since 2005-06.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is responsible for the purchase of gas and electricity in the buildings it occupies, it does so through a Government Procurement Service framework contract. There has been no change in the contracted suppliers used during any of the last 10 years. At other sites, gas and electricity is supplied under arrangements made by landlords or major occupiers, and is paid for by way of a service charge.
	The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) purchases gas and electricity from the following suppliers through a Government Procurement Service framework contract:
	Gas—Corona Energy;
	Electricity—Electricite De France (EDF) (large sites) and; and
	British Gas—(small sites).
	There are a number of sites occupied by the CPS where arrangements for the supply of gas and electricity are made by commercial landlords under lease arrangements or, by other Government Departments under a Memorandum of Terms of Occupation (MOTO). No data are held on the energy providers used at these sites.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Law Officers' Departments have spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity bills in each of the last 10 years.

Dominic Grieve: The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Treasury Solicitors Department(*) Crown ProsecutionService Serious Fraud Office 
			 2002-03    
			 Gas 30,816 146,647 14,820 
			 Electricity 50,655 855,735 66,119 
			     
			 2003-04    
			 Gas 31,830 182,345 9,927 
			 Electricity 66,285 944,107 66,486 
			     
			 2004-05    
			 Gas 42,989 206,643 16,500 
			 Electricity 76,019 1,117,060 83,648 
			     
			 2005-06    
			 Gas 34,736 269,272 18,162 
			 Electricity 130,947 1,484,482 135,177 
			     
			 2006-07    
			 Gas 13,025 253,063 29,524 
			 Electricity 149,533 1,436,411 397,585 
			     
			 2007-08    
			 Gas 5,031 202,443 18,334 
			 Electricity 163,359 1,433,220 168,497 
			     
			 2008-09    
			 Gas 6,603 329,818 48,116 
			 Electricity 305,042 1,721,698 243,728 
			     
			 2009-10    
			 Gas 16,486 234,296 24,909 
			 Electricity 272,563 2,094,175 284,350 
			     
			 2010-11    
			 Gas 8,805 312,684 17,749 
			 Electricity 262,125 1,289,765 205,171 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12    
			 Gas 1,557 207,847 21,088 
			 Electricity 249,405 1,344,089 196,443 
			 (* )TSol data also cover the Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Advisory Bodies

Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost to the public purse was of each of the statutory advisory bodies reporting to his Department in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change does not have any statutory advisory bodies.

Carbon Sequestration: Yorkshire and Humber

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the total cost to the public purse of the proposed Yorkshire and Humber Carbon Capture, Transportation and Storage Project.

Charles Hendry: I have made no estimate of the total cost to the public purse involved in the proposed Yorkshire and Humber Carbon Capture, Transportation and Storage Project. The project may feature in proposals we expect to receive as part of the CCS Commercialisation programme announced on 3 April 2012. If so, the level of public financial support required for these projects will be assessed as part of that process.

Carbon Sequestration: Yorkshire and Humber

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the security and stability of the technology involved in the proposed Yorkshire and Humber Carbon Capture, Transportation and Storage pipeline project.

Charles Hendry: I have made no estimate of the security and stability of the pipeline involved in the proposed Yorkshire and Humber Carbon Capture, Transportation and Storage Project. The project may feature in proposals we expect to receive as part of the CCS Commercialisation programme announced on 3 April 2012. If so, the technical feasibility of these projects will be assessed as part of that process.

Carbon Sequestration: Yorkshire and Humber

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much carbon dioxide will be prevented from entering the atmosphere as a result of the proposed Yorkshire and Humber Carbon Capture, Transportation and Storage Project on average each year; and what proportion of the UK annual carbon dioxide emission this represents.

Charles Hendry: Individual developers of potential CCS projects are responsible for quantifying this information. The developer's website contains further information about the potential for this project to capture and store carbon dioxide
	www.ccshumber.co.uk
	It suggests the potential to save tens of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

Carbon Sequestration: Yorkshire and Humber

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what studies he has commissioned on the possible effects on marine life of the storage of carbon in the seabed by the Yorkshire and Humber Carbon Capture, Transportation and Storage pipeline project.

Charles Hendry: None. As part of the process of securing the necessary permits to complete the project the developer will have to demonstrate that there will be no significant adverse impact on marine life.

Carbon Sequestration: Yorkshire and Humber

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to take any additional steps to ensure the prevention of carbon dioxide leaks from the proposed Yorkshire and Humber Carbon Capture, Transportation and Storage Project following the leaks in the Netherlands at Berkel en Rodenrijs in 2008.

Charles Hendry: The pipeline operator has a legal responsibility to take all reasonable steps, and introduce appropriate measures, to ensure that the pipeline is designed, constructed and operated safely. The Environment Agency are responsible for monitoring that the risks to the environment from the pipeline are assessed by the pipeline operator and that suitable controls are put in place. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will oversee that the health and safety risks to people from these work activities are addressed by enforcing the general duties of the Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996.

Coryton Refinery

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the implications of recent developments in the processing of crude oil at the Coryton refinery for (a) the competitiveness of the UK and (b) the effectiveness of the supply chain in the oil, gas and petroleum industries; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on this matter.

Charles Hendry: It is disappointing that a buyer has not yet been found for the Coryton refinery. This reflects a general overcapacity in the European refining sector. An assessment of the economic impact on the area has been commissioned by a task force set up by Thurrock council. On the supply chain, the south-east is served by other supply points that enable suppliers to develop and implement existing contingency plans to maintain their supply operations.
	The Department has kept in regular contact with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills about developments at the refinery.

Coryton Refinery

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what approaches PricewaterhouseCoopers has made to the Government for financial assistance in securing the future of the Coryton Oil Refinery; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: The administrators of Coryton Oil Refinery made a formal representation to the Department on 15 May 2012 in respect of the provision of Government assistance for one option relating to Coryton Oil Refinery. We understand that this was one of a range of options the administrators were considering at the time. These representations are necessarily commercially confidential.

Energy: Finance

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish the total value of (a) subsidies, (b) tax incentives and (c) capital allowances to support (i) oil, (ii) gas, (iii) wind, (iv) solar, (v) biomass, (vi) nuclear and (vii) hydroelectric energy.

Gregory Barker: The following table shows the total amount paid by technology under renewables obligation from 2003-04 (the year of commencement) to 2010-11 (the last year for which data are available).
	
		
			 Technology £ million (real 2012-13 prices) 
			 Wind 2,921 
			 Solar 1 
			 Biomass(1) 1,667 
			 Hydroelectric 1,037 
			 (1 )This includes co-firing of biomass with fossil fuel, biomass using an advanced conversion technologies, co-firing of energy crops, dedicated biomass, dedicated biomass with combined heat and power (CUP), dedicated energy crops, dedicated energy crops with CHP. 
		
	
	For the period 1 April 2010 to 31 December 2011, a total of £80,748,750.10 was paid for the electricity generated by all the technologies under the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme. We do not have this information broken down by technology.
	There are no subsidies for oil and gas, and no subsidies for nuclear.
	The Department does not hold information on the total value of tax incentives or capital allowances. I refer the Member to Her Majesty's Treasury for this information.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer of 16 May 2012, Official Report, column 563, on energy bills, what protection in addition to that provided by the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 consumers will have following the deal secured with the big six energy companies.

Charles Hendry: The agreements secured by the Deputy Prime Minister with each of the major energy suppliers are voluntary and do not affect statutory protections. One of the key aims of each agreement is to ensure suppliers are taking more proactive steps to help customers to be on the best tariff for them.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to paragraph three on his Department's consultation on a proposed new power for Ofgem to compel regulated energy businesses to provide redress to consumers, what estimate his Department has made of the number of consumers who have taken individual action in the courts against their energy supplier in the latest period for which figures are available.

Charles Hendry: Consumers who are dissatisfied with their energy company's response to their complaint can refer the matter to the energy ombudsman. The ombudsman received 7,201 complaints about energy suppliers and distributors in 2011-12. This figure is likely to be significantly higher than the number of court actions brought by individuals against their energy supplier, given the greater cost and complexity of pursuing such matters in the courts.

Fuel Poverty

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) the UK, (b) each region of the UK, (c) each local authority in the UK and (d) each parliamentary constituency living in fuel poverty.

Gregory Barker: In 2010, the latest year for which data is available, the number of households in the UK in fuel poverty was estimated to be 4.75 million. The following table shows the figures for each region.
	
		
			 Region Estimated number households in fuel poverty 
			 London 331,000 
			 South East 401,000 
			 South West 342,000 
			 West Midlands 485,000 
			 East of England 381,000 
			 East Midlands 341,000 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 415,000 
			 North West 601,000 
			 North East 238,000 
			 Scotland 658,000 
			 Wales 332,000 
			 Northern Ireland 297,000 
		
	
	Estimates for local authorities and parliamentary constituencies for England can be found on the DECC website:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/fuelpov_stats/regional/regional.aspx
	For Scotland, estimates for local authority can be found here:
	http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/SHCS/LA0810
	Wales and Northern Ireland do not produce fuel poverty statistics at a local authority or constituency level.

Natural Gas: Imports

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of UK imports of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas, originated from (a) Russia, (b) Norway, (c) Qatar, (d) Algeria and (e) other sources in 2011.

Gregory Barker: Provisional figures for imports of natural gas both piped and shipped to the UK in 2011 are contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Country 
			  (a) Russia (b) Norway (c) Qatar (d) Algeria (e) Other sources 
			 Gigawatt hours ~0 244,159 230,618 2,647 100,536 
			 Percentage ~0 42.2 39.9 0.5 17.4 
		
	
	The UK has not physically imported any gas directly from Russia. Some Russian gas might exist in gas imported from the Continent, but in negligible amounts.
	Imports of natural gas by country are published on the Department of Energy and Climate Change's website at the following address:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/media/viewfile.ashx?filetype=4&filepath=Statistics/source/gas/et4_4.xls&minwidth=true

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 204W, on renewable energy feed-in tariffs, if he will make it his policy to seek parliamentary approval for any agreement between his Department and relevant developers on comfort to support early investment decisions.

Gregory Barker: The draft energy Bill 2012 contains a number of provisions which would enable the Government to issue what are called “investment instruments” in advance of the regime for Contracts for Difference (CfDs) being established. These provisions have been put in place to allow the Department to offer comfort to developers of low carbon electricity generating projects that need to take final investment decisions ahead of the introduction of the electricity market reforms contained in the draft Bill.
	The draft Bill specifies that the issue of an investment instrument is subject to conditions, including that a draft of the instrument has been laid before Parliament. The final issue of the investment instrument is of course subject to the enactment of the draft Bill.
	The draft Bill also contains provisions enabling the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to make modifications to electricity supply licences or to make regulations by statutory instrument in connection with investment instruments. Both of these provisions would be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with private energy sector investors about the appropriate body to act as the counterparty for the feed-in tariffs with contracts for difference as set out in the draft energy Bill.

Charles Hendry: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change regularly meets with energy sector stakeholders. As part of discussions on Electricity Market Reform, the counterparty arrangements under Contracts for Difference has been raised.
	As the Government made clear when publishing the draft energy Bill on 22 May 2012, we recognise that investors need robust counterparty arrangements to invest under Contracts for Difference. Officials at DECC have had detailed discussions with a wide variety of industry stakeholders on both the current proposals and also an alternative model with a single counterparty. A final decision on which model to adopt will be published in the autumn.
	Details of meetings between Ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on the departmental website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/accesstoinform/registers/ministermtgs/ministermtgs.aspx

HOME DEPARTMENT

Abid Hussain

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department have met Abid Hussain.

Damian Green: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of ail such meetings.

Abid Hussain

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) she, (b) Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have given advice on the vetting of Abid Hussain to Ministers of the Cabinet Office in relation to her participation in official Government business.

Damian Green: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Home Office Ministers or officials have given advice on the vetting of Abid Hussain to Ministers of the Cabinet Office in relation to his participation in official Government business.

Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licences were issued for the animal testing of botulinium toxin in each year since 1997; how many animals of each (a) breed and (b) type were involved; and how much toxin was involved in each case.

Lynne Featherstone: Authority for the batch testing of botulinum toxin under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is not granted solely for that purpose and would be included in licences granted for the regulatory testing of various biological toxins. The number of licences issued each year for this purpose since 1997 is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Typically the type of animal used would be mice. Information on the number of animals used for potency testing of botulinum toxin for human use is not collected for statistical purposes so it is not possible to identify the number of animals used in testing a particular substance or product. Licences for this purpose typically determine the amount of toxin in the substance to be tested (the potency) through dilution assays. There is no agreed measurable unit of potency for botulinum toxin. It can only be assessed as a function of its biological effect on a living organism. Therefore the licences typically would not specify the amount of toxin involved.

Animal Experiments: EU Law

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department plans to remove the ban on using stray cats and dogs in experiments in the transposition of European Union Directive 2010/63/EU.

Lynne Featherstone: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 June 2012, Official Report, columns 1111-12W.

Crime Prevention

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to reduce crime amongst people who are homeless.

James Brokenshire: Police forces need to tackle crime in line with local priorities and there is no simple link between homelessness and crime. From November 2012 the election of police and crime commissioners will help drive down crime by making policing more accountable and responsive to local needs and concerns. Police.uk now provides the public with street-level information about crime to enable them to hold local policing teams to account. The Government have swept away central targets and are cutting bureaucracy to help free police officers to cut crime. At a national level, the creation of the National Crime Agency will make the UK a hostile environment for serious and organised criminality.
	The Government have maintained funding for the Homelessness Grant at 2010-11 levels with £400 million over the next four years, and announced an additional £70 million investment this year which will: protect vital front line services; enable local authorities to intervene earlier and help people stay in their homes; ensure single homeless people get access to good housing advice; and deliver improved hostel provision.

Crime Prevention

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to reduce crime amongst people who are unemployed.

James Brokenshire: Police forces need to tackle crime in line with local priorities and there is no simple link between unemployment and crime. From November 2012 the election of police and crime commissioners will help drive down crime by making policing more accountable and responsive to local needs and concerns. Police.uk now provides the public with street-level information about crime to enable them to hold local policing teams to account. The Government have swept away central targets and are cutting bureaucracy to help free police officers to cut crime. At a national level, the creation of the National Crime Agency will make the UK a hostile environment for serious and organised criminality.
	The Government are taking a number of steps to tackle unemployment. The Youth Contract was introduced in April 2012 to provide additional support, worth almost £1 billion, to young unemployed people over the next three years, and from March 2012, the Government provided additional employment support for prison leavers through the Work programme, immediately on release from prison.

Crime Prevention

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to reduce crime amongst people who have a (a) numeracy level and (b) reading age below that expected of an 11 year old.

James Brokenshire: Police forces need to tackle crime in line with local priorities and from November 2012 the election of police and crime commissioners will help drive down crime by making policing more accountable and responsive to local needs and concerns. Police.uk now provides the public with street-level information about crime to enable them to hold local policing teams to account. The Government have swept away central targets and are cutting bureaucracy to help free police officers to cut crime. At a national level, the creation of the National Crime Agency will make the UK a hostile environment for serious and organised criminality.
	As part of our support to local partners to tackle crime, we are working across Government to improve life chances, education and employment outcomes. On numeracy and literacy levels, the Government are aiming to ensure that:
	no child should leave school without the literacy and numeracy skills to succeed;
	young people held in the secure estate have access to a full day of education and constructive activity. Their literacy and numeracy levels are assessed on entry and they receive an individual learning plan to address their learning needs whilst in custody; and
	those who have already offended are given the skills they will need, including the basic skills of maths and English, to find and keep jobs on release or while serving a community sentence.
	In addition, the Government are continuing to fund basic English and maths courses for adults who lack these skills, enabling them to gain the qualifications that they need for employment and progression.

Crime Prevention

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to reduce crime amongst people who have a psychiatric disorder.

James Brokenshire: Police forces need to tackle crime in line with local priorities and from November 2012 the election of police and crime commissioners will help drive down crime by making policing more accountable and responsive to local needs and concerns. Police.uk now provides the public with street-level information about crime to enable them to hold local policing teams to account. The Government have swept away central targets and are cutting bureaucracy to help free police officers to cut crime. At a national level, the creation of the National Crime Agency will make the UK a hostile environment for serious and organised criminality.
	It is unlikely that most offenders with mental disorders offend primarily as a direct result of their disorder. It may however be a contributory factor and may also undermine an individual's ability to engage with interventions which support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. We are committed to tackling the underlying mental health and substance misuse issues that some offenders have. Our priority is to ensure that those with mental health problems within the criminal justice system are identified as early as possible, so that the right interventions can be provided in the most appropriate setting. We are currently working with the Department of Health and Ministry of Justice to develop liaison and diversion services in police custody suites and at courts for offenders with mental health issues and other vulnerabilities, and to test options for intensive, treatment based alternatives to custody.

Crime Prevention

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to reduce the number of crimes committed by people who have used drugs in the previous year.

James Brokenshire: Police forces need to tackle crime in line with local priorities and from November 2012 the election of police and crime commissioners will help drive down crime by making policing more accountable and responsive to local needs and concerns. Police.uk now provides the public with street-level information about crime to enable them to hold local policing teams to account. The Government have swept away central targets and are cutting bureaucracy to help free police officers to cut crime. At a national level, the creation of the National Crime Agency will make the UK a hostile environment for serious and organised criminality.
	In relation specifically to drug misusing offenders, the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) is a centrally funded crime reduction programme which has been running since 2003. The programme provides interventions for drug misusing offenders across England and Wales at relevant points during their contact with the criminal justice system, including police custody, court, prison, and probation.
	Home Office funding for the DIP currently pays for police staff to carry out drug testing to identify drug misusing offenders among those arrested or charged, and ensure they seek support. In addition, the Home Office and Department of Health jointly provide funding to local areas for the employment of drug workers to assess and refer people into the appropriate treatment and recovery services. The programme managed nearly 63,000 individuals into treatment and recovery services in England and Wales in 2010-11, and research has shown significant reductions in offending by individuals in contact with the programme.

Crime Prevention: EU Action

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the European Crime Prevention Network established under EU Council Decision 2009/902/JHA interacts with the police forces of England and Wales; and what assessment her Department has made of its effectiveness.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 25 June 2012
	It is not possible to quantify exactly the interaction by police forces in England and Wales in the activities of the European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) because those interactions take place primarily through police forces' uploading information to a public access website.
	The UK must decide, no later than 31 May 2014, whether to accept full European Court of Justice jurisdiction over those EU police and criminal justice measures adopted before 1 December 2009 which have not been amended or replaced. This measure falls within the scope of that decision and will be reviewed accordingly.

Crime: British Overseas Territories

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) she and (b) her officials have had discussions with UK police forces on assessing and responding to drug crime and violent crime in the overseas territories; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 2 June 2012
	Much of the Home Office assistance to the Overseas Territories (OTs) is based on requests from them. The Home Office has not been involved in discussions with UK police forces specifically on assessing or responding to drug and violent crime in Overseas Territories (OTs) and does not commission such assistance. The Home Office has, however, authorised overseas deployments by serving police officers (under s.26 of the Police Act 1996) in response to various ad hoc requests by OTs for assistance. Annex A of The Overseas Territories and the Home Office paper
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk
	provides a list of examples of such support provided during 2010 and 2011. The Government will shortly publish a White Paper entitled “The Overseas Territories—Security, Success and Sustainability” and this covers UK assistance of and partnership with the OTs, including in relation to crime.

Detainees: Compensation

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many compensation claims for wrongful detention were (a) made and (b) granted in each year from 1997 to 2011;
	(2)  how many compensation claims for wrongful detention have been (a) made and (b) granted in 2012 to date;
	(3)  how many compensation claims for wrongful detention were (a) made and (b) granted in 2011-12.

Damian Green: In order to answer this question the UK Border Agency would need to analyse a large volume of electronic records, case and litigation files which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department switched its (a) gas or (b) electricity supplier in any of the last 10 years.

Damian Green: Since 2002 the Home Office has in the main used the central Government energy frameworks for its gas and electricity needs. The Department has switched suppliers on some occasions in moving additional buildings into these frameworks.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity bills in each of the last 10 years.

Damian Green: The Home Office has spent the following on gas and electricity bills in each of the last 10 years:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Commodity 
			  Gas Electricity 
			 2003-04 0.58 2.84 
			 2004-05 0.79 3.62 
			 2005-06 1.16 4.73 
			 2006-07 2.13 7.91 
			 2007-08 0.86 8.11 
			 2008-09 4.46 11.15 
			 2009-10 3.66 11.00 
			 2010-11 2.63 9.21 
			 2011-12 2.38 9.65

Essex Police Authority

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what guidance Essex Police Authority issues to its employees on the booking of (a) inland and (b) overseas travel for official business; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many and which files were sent to the National Archives by Essex Police Authority in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  how many people employed by Essex Police Authority visited (a) the US and (b) the EU on official business in each of the last three years; and at what cost to the public purse in each case.

Nick Herbert: The issues raised in these questions are all matters for Essex Police Authority to address.

Essex Police Authority

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date each property (a) owned and (b) leased by Essex Police Authority was occupied by Essex Police Authority; and what the estimated monetary value is of each such property.

Nick Herbert: This information is not collected centrally. Decisions about the most effective use of available resources, including decisions about what property to buy or lease and the arrangements for occupying such property, are for the chief constable and police authority to take locally.

Essex Police Authority

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much it cost to run Essex Police Authority in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how much was spent by Essex Police Authority on the use of taxis in each of the last five years; and whether Essex Police Authority issues guidance on the use of taxis by employees;
	(3)  how much was spent by Essex Police Authority on entertainment in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Herbert: This information is not collected centrally. These are matters for the police authority to decide locally.

Essex Police Authority

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) males and (b) females were (i) arrested and (ii) prosecuted for an offence committed on premises occupied by Essex Police Authority in each of the last five years for which information is available; how many were (A) convicted and (B) acquitted in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Essex Police Authority

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid in compensation by Essex Police Authority in each of the last five years for which information is available; to whom; for what reason in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: This is a matter for Essex Police Authority.

Essex Police Authority

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people employed by Essex Police Authority were eligible for performance bonuses and special bonuses at each grade in each of the last three years; how many people received each type of bonus at each grade in each such year; what the average payment was for each type of bonus; and what the maximum payment was for each type of bonus at each grade.

Nick Herbert: This information is not collected centrally. These are matters for the Police Authority.

Essex Police Authority

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many temporary workers were employed by Essex Police Authority in each of the last five years; and what the total cost to the public purse was of such staff in each year.

Nick Herbert: This is a matter for Essex Police Authority.

Europol

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests to (a) initiate, (b) conduct and (c) co-ordinate investigations the UK received from Europol pursuant to Article 7 of EU Council Decision 2009/371/JHA in each year since 2009; and how many of those requests resulted in an investigation.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 25 June 2012
	Records of the information requested are not held centrally.

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on which dates her Department has published Government procurement card spending over £500 since May 2010.

Damian Green: The Home Office has published Government procurement card spending over £500 on its website every month since April 2011 on the following dates:
	1. April 2011 data published 30 June 2011
	2. May 2011 data published 29 July 2011
	3. June 2011 data published 31 August 2011
	4. July 2011 data published 30 September 2011
	5. August 2011 data published 31 October 2011
	6. September 2011 data published 30 November 2011
	7. October 2011 data published 30 December 2011
	8. November 2011 data published 31 January 2012
	9. December 2011 data published 29 February 2012
	10. January 2012 data published 30 March 2012
	11. February 2012 data published 30 April 2012

Immigration

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the abuse by citizens of non-EU member states of the right of entry into the UK for citizens from accession states.

Damian Green: In 2011 Border Force officers detected 433 non-EU citizens who attempted to gain entry to the UK by falsely presenting themselves as a national of an Accession state with a right of entry. In these cases the non-EU citizen presented a forged document or impersonated the holder of a genuine document issued by an Accession state.
	There is also evidence to suggest that the free movement rights of Accession state nationals are being abused through marriages of conveniences. In 2011 the UK Border Agency received 579 reports from registrars of suspected marriages of convenience involving Accession nationals marrying third country nationals.
	The Government are committed to protecting free movement rights from fraud and abuse and is taking action domestically and at the EU-level to tackle the problem.

Immigration Controls

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training staff operating passport and security desks at sea and airports undertake on customer-friendly attitudes; whether performance in this area is monitored; and whether refresher training sessions are undertaken.

Damian Green: Border Force constantly strives to provide a high standard of customer service at the border. Officers within Border Force is provided with a range of customer service training including
	Exceeding Customer Expectations—Aimed at all officers; covers ways to improve the quality of the customer service provided;
	Proud to Serve and Protect—Professional Service—Aimed at all officers; raises awareness of how the behaviour of an officer working at the border can impact on the customer experience;
	Proud to Serve and Protect—BF Service Style—Aimed at all officers; covers the standard for face to face interaction with our public;
	Sustaining Excellent Customer Service—Aimed at managers; provides tools to reinforce and recognise good customer service plus address problem situations;
	First Impressions Count—Aimed at all officers; places emphasis on the important role officers' will play in the overall Olympic and Paralympic experience, with particular focus on the Paralympics.
	Monitoring of performance, including observing the manner in which individual officers deal with the public, is the responsibility of team leaders.
	Refresher training on customer service is being provided by the provision to all officers of the First Impressions Count package.

Immigration: Merseyside

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications from people of non-European Economic Area nationality applying for leave to enter the UK on the basis of their family relationship with a British citizen or a person settled in the UK were sponsored by someone living in St Helens South and Whiston constituency in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The following table provides the number of entry clearance applications from non-EU nationals applying for leave to enter on the basis of their family relationship with a British citizen or a person settled in the UK, and where the sponsor of these applications is someone living in the St Helens South and Whiston constituency in the last five years.
	
		
			  Applications 
			 2007 206 
			 2008 209 
			 2009 165 
			 2010 155 
			 2011 151 
			 Total 886 
		
	
	The above data are based on management information. It is provisional and subject to change. The data relate to applications where the sponsor postcode begins with WA10 or L35.

Information Officers

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much press officers in her Department, its agencies and arm’s length bodies claimed in reimbursable expenses since May 2010.

Damian Green: holding answer 21 June 2012
	A total value of £54,037.32 was claimed and paid in reimbursable expenses between May 2010 and 19 June 2012.

Abu Qatada

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on legal fees for (a) Abu Qatada and (b) her Department since 2002.

Damian Green: Legal fees incurred by the Government to deport Abu Qatada are £0.82 million up to 30 April 2012. The case is ongoing, and so further costs are likely to be incurred.
	Home Office spend on legal fees over the last 10 years is as follows:
	
		
			 Legal fees 
			  £ million 
			 2003-04 12.27 
			 2004-05 15.11 
			 2005-06 21.11 
			 2006-07 27.20 
			 2007-08 29.26 
			 2008-09 28.95 
			 2009-10 29.76 
			 2010-11 44.18 
			 2011-12 50.54

Licensing Laws: Birmingham

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on the number of alcohol licences revoked in (a) Birmingham, Ladywood constituency and (b) Birmingham city council area since the coming into force of the Licensing Act 2003.

James Brokenshire: Alcohol licensing statistics are not collected by constituency, so they cannot be broken down to the requested level. The latest available information relates to the number of premises licences, club premises certificates and personal licences surrendered, lapsed, revoked, forfeited, suspended or withdrawn within Birmingham licensing authority as a whole between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2010.
	These figures can be seen within the following tables. They include all such authorisations for licensable activities under the Licensing Act 2003 covering the licensing authority.
	
		
			 Table 1: Premises licences surrendered, lapsed, suspended by a court, closure notice, Birmingham licensing authority, 2006-07 to 2009-10 
			 Financial year Surrendered(1) Lapsed(2) Suspended by a court(3) Closure notice(4) 
			 2006-07 30 6 0 (5)— 
			 2007-08 7 5 0 0 
			 2008-09 204 35 0 0 
			 2009-10 13 12 0 0 
			 (1) Where a premises licence is surrendered under section 28 of the Licensing Act 2003. (2) Where a premises licence has lapsed due to the death, incapacity, insolvency etc. of the licence holder, as set out under section 27 of the Licensing Act 2003. Excludes instances where a premises licence was in effect for a limited period, but the period has since expired (e.g. one-off events). (3) Where a premises licence is suspended by a court, under section 147B( 1) of the Licensing Act 2003 (as amended by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006) for the sale or supply of alcohol, following an offence of persistently selling to underage children. (4) Where a premises is prohibited from selling alcohol for 48 hours following a closure notice under s.169A. (5) Unknown (not collected in 2006-07). 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Club premises certificates surrendered, lapsed, withdrawn, Birmingham licensing authority, 2006-07 to 2009-10 
			 Financial year Surrendered(1) Lapsed(2) Withdrawn(3) 
			 2006-07(2) 0 0 0 
			 2007-08 1 0 0 
			 2008-09 11 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 2009-10 9 0 0 
			 (1) Where a club premises certificate is surrendered under section 81(3) of the Licensing Act 2003. (2) Where a club premises certificate has lapsed because it had effect for a limited period, but that period has since expired. (3) Where a club premises certificate is withdrawn under section 90 of the Licensing Act 2003. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 3: Personal licences surrendered, revoked, forfeited, suspended by a court, Birmingham Licensing Authority, 2006-07 to 2009-10 
			 Financial year Surrendered(1) Revoked(2) Forfeited(3) Suspended by a court(4) 
			 2006-07 2 0 0 0 
			 2007-08 5 0 0 0 
			 2008-09 13 0 1 0 
			 2009-10 4 0 1 0 
			 (1) Where a personal licence is surrendered under section 116 of the Licensing Act 2003. (2) Where a personal licence is revoked under section 124 of the Licensing Act 2003. (3) Where a personal licence has been forfeited following a court order under section 129 of the Licensing Act 2003 in the time period specified (and where that order has not been suspended, pending an appeal under sections 129(4) or 130 of the Licensing Act 2003). (4) Where a personal licence is suspended following a court order under section 129 of the Licensing Act 2003 in the time period specified (and where that order has not been suspended, pending an appeal under sections 129(4) or 130 of the Licensing Act 2003).

Olympic Games 2012

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect secondments to the UK Border Force during the London 2012 Olympics will have on the detection of illegal drugs at ports.

Damian Green: The secondments to Border Force during the London 2012 Olympic period will help it to maintain all border security activity, including the detection of illegal drugs at ports.

Olympic Games 2012

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether foreign law enforcement agents and other foreign nationals with firearms will be allowed to enter the UK during the London 2012 Olympics; and what steps she plans to take to ensure such firearms are tracked.

Damian Green: Foreign law enforcement agents (known as in flight security officers or federal air marshals or sky marshals) are not permitted to hold firearms in the United Kingdom. Border Force will continue to secure and retain control of firearms being brought to the UK by foreign law enforcement agents.
	The Government remain committed to delivering a safe and secure Olympic games in 2012, and lead responsibility for this rests with the police who have substantial experience of dealing with public order and security at major events. The rules governing the presence of foreign security and protection teams at the games are the same as at any time.
	Foreign national games family members (GFM) competing in the Olympic and Paralympic shooting events will be given the appropriate authority to hold firearms. All firearms will be held in the Royal Artillery Barracks in the UK. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) will be operating a collection-and-return service between the ports and the Royal Artillery Barracks for firearms. Border Force officers, along with the Metropolitan Police Service, SO19—specialist firearms command responsible for issuing British visitors firearms permits—will be deployed to the Royal Artillery Barracks to ensure that regulatory requirements and re-export of firearms are completed.

Organised Crime: British Overseas Territories

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the presence of organised crime in each of the overseas territories; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 25 June 2012
	The Overseas Territories and the Home Office paper
	www.homeoffice.gov.uk
	provides an overview of some of the assistance provided by the Home Office to the Overseas Territories (OTs). A number of Government agencies, including the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), are well positioned to liaise with and support each OT to protect itself from the threat of organised crime. In delivering Local to Global, the Government's organised crime strategy, SOCA liaises regularly with the Caribbean OTs and supports them with training, equipment and staffing resources to combat a broad spectrum of serious and organised crime impacting upon the region and potentially the UK.
	The Government will also shortly publish a White Paper entitled “The Overseas Territories—Security, Success and Sustainability” which covers UK assistance of, and partnership with, the OTs, including in relation to crime.

Police

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been recruited in the (a) South Yorkshire, (b) Northumberland, (c) Merseyside and (d) Metropolitan police since May 2010.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 25 June 2012
	The number of police officers that have been recruited in the South Yorkshire, Northumbria, Merseyside and Metropolitan police for 2010-11 are shown within the following table:
	
		
			 Police officer joiners for South Yorkshire, Northumbria, Merseyside and Metropolitan police for 2010-11(1,2) 
			  Joiners 
			 South Yorkshire 102 
			 Northumbria 54 
			 Merseyside 2 
			 Metropolitan police 432 
			 1 This table contain full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) Figures include transfers from other England and Wales forces but does not include officers returning after a period of secondment.

Police: Information and Communications Technology

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which police authorities had agreed to participate in the new police ICT company as at 18 June 2012;
	(2)  by what date she expects the new police ICT company to be established.

Nick Herbert: We plan to update Parliament on the creation of the company shortly.

Police: Overtime

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much each police force spent on overtime for (a) police officers, (b) police community support officers and (c) police staff in each of the last 10 financial years.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 25 June 2012
	The data are available on the website of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants at:
	www.cipfastats.net

Police: Pay

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects of the freeze of incremental pay of police officers with over three years of service.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 21 June 2012
	A two-year freeze of incremental progression was among the recommendations made by the Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT) in January. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department considered the tribunal's findings very carefully, in line with her statutory responsibilities. She announced on 30 January that she had decided to accept the PAT's recommendation. I refer the hon. Member to her statement of 30 January 2012, Official Report, column 31WS.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of countries to which foreign national offenders can be removed;
	(2)  with reference to section 21 of the Coalition agreement, to how many more countries the UK can now deport foreign criminals than in 2010.

Damian Green: There are no countries to which, as a matter of immigration policy, the UK Border Agency cannot remove foreign national offenders. However, there may be some countries where it is difficult to make enforced removals, or where there are legal barriers that prevent removal from taking place.
	The UK Border Agency continues to work in partnership with the officials of foreign Governments to overcome any barriers faced in enforced removals.

Procurement

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts issued by her Department were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in 2011-12; what proportion that figure represents of all contracts let; and what the monetary value was of such contracts.

Damian Green: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 19 June 2012, Official Report, column 877W.

UK Border Force

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the establishment of a national command centre by the UK Border Force.

Damian Green: There are no plans to establish a Border Force national command and control centre. Border Force currently ensures that appropriate arrangements for managing deployment and incidents are in place, and the efficacy of such arrangements is kept under review.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests at the prison gate there were of people just released from prison aged 25 years and under in each of the last five years.

Nick Herbert: The information requested is not available centrally.

EDUCATION

Adoption: Ethnic Groups

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 364W, on adoption: ethnic groups, for what reason his Department does not collect information on the ethnicity of adopters.

Tim Loughton: All children who ceased to be looked after at some point during the year, on the granting of an adoption order, will have been placed with their adoptive parents before the making of the adoption order. The Department collects information from local authorities on the number of adopters, their gender and relationship status. The collection of data on adopters was intended to monitor the implementation of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and was limited to avoid a large data burden upon local authorities and the data collection process. However, Ofsted is now collecting information on the ethnicity of adopters under their annual adoption collection, and therefore in future this information will be available to the Department.

Young People: Carers

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what support his Department has made available to young carers since 2010.

Tim Loughton: Supporting carers, including young carers, is a priority for this Government. We want young carers to be healthy, to achieve and to have the same opportunities as other children.
	That is why within six months of the general election we published the revised HMG Carers Strategy ‘Recognised, valued and supported: Next Steps for the Carers Strategy’. The Department made three commitments in that strategy, all of which have now been implemented: to make a new Early Intervention Grant available to local Government; to work with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to develop the first all-age careers service; and to launch a new national campaign to help turn around the lives of families with multiple problems—now being lead by the troubled families team in the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	In addition to this work the Department for Education is also grant-funding the Children's Society and Carers Trust £1.5 million over two years to work with local authorities and voluntary and community organisations to: encourage children's and adult services to work more closely together and adopt ‘whole family’ approaches to supporting young carers; and identify and share existing evidence based good practice, tools and resources for the identification and support of young carers.
	To support this work further the Department for Education (DFE) has also worked with the Department of Health and the National Young Carers Coalition to create a ‘Healthy Schools’ e-learning module for teachers and school staff to enable them to better identify and support young carers. It is available on the Children's Society website:
	http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Young-Carers-Web-Pub-v13/player.html
	To support the spread of effective practice, we have also published ‘Turning around the lives of families with multiple problems—an evaluation of the Family and Young Carer Pathfinders Programme’. This evaluation report is based on findings from 18 local authorities that have been developing innovative local practice by getting children's and adult services to work effectively together alongside the voluntary sector and schools to support young carers. The report is available at:
	https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/RSG/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-RR154
	Last year following Carers Week I wrote to every MP and every director of children's services in England to urge them to continue to champion the cause of young carers in their area and ensure they have access to the support services they require.

Young People: North East

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what comparative assessment he has made of the proportion of young people in the north-east and other regions who are not in education, employment and training.

Tim Loughton: Official estimates of the number and proportion of 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England are published by the Department in a statistical first release (SFR) each June and can be found on the Department's website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001011/index.shtml
	However, these estimates cannot be broken down to regional level.
	We can estimate the number and proportion of 16-18 year olds NEET at a regional level using data collected by local authorities. The proportion of 16-18 year olds who were NEET in each region in England at the end of 2011 (November 2011-January 2012 average) is shown in the following table. Note that due to methodological differences, estimates for young people NEET based on local authority data tend to be lower than the official estimates for NEET in the SFR.
	
		
			 Proportion of 16-18 year olds NEET by region 
			  Percentage 
			 North East 8.8 
			 North West 7.1 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 7.1 
			 East Midlands 5.4 
			 West Midlands 6.2 
			 South West 5.7 
			 East of England 6.0 
			 London 4.5 
			 South East 5.8 
			 England 6.1 
			 Source: Local authority data (CCIS)

Young People: North East

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding is available through the Youth Contract specifically to help young people not in education, employment or training in the north-east; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: As part of the Youth Contract, we will provide additional support for 16 to 17-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training and have low levels of qualifications. We expect provision to be available to young people from September and have confirmed funding until the end of 2014-15.
	For the north-east region, excluding Newcastle and Gateshead local authorities, we have set an indicative contract amount of £6,494,447 over that period. We also intend to devolve £577,695 directly to Newcastle and Gateshead local authorities in each of the next three years to allow them to procure tailored local support for young people as part of our City Deals.

DEFENCE

16 Air Assault Brigade

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the authorised personnel strength was of 16 Air Assault Brigade on (a) 31 May 2010 and (b) 31 May 2012; and what it will be once those named in June 2012 as being made redundant have left HM Armed Forces.

Nick Harvey: The most recent data available shows that as at 1 April 2012 the authorised establishment for 16 Air Assault Brigade was 7,160 personnel.
	Details of authorised unit personnel establishments are not maintained retrospectively and are not held in central records.
	It is not possible to say what the future establishment of the Brigade will be as this is dependent on the outcome of the Army's study into its future structure which will be announced as soon as decisions have been made.

Afghanistan

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many attacks made by unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) have taken place in Afghanistan in the last three years; where each such UAV was made; and how many civilian casualties there were as a result of each attack.

Nick Harvey: In the last three years to 19 June 2012, 176 strikes have been carried out by UK Reaper unmanned air vehicles (UAV) in Afghanistan. Reaper is the only UK UAV which carries weapons. I cannot comment on UAVs or strikes by other nations. Reaper is acquired, supported and armed through the US government. The prime contractor to the US government for the construction of Reaper is General Atomics—Aeronautical Systems Inc., based in California. The UK takes every reasonable measure to avoid civilian casualties. I am aware of only one incident where individuals not classified as insurgents were killed by a UK Reaper UAV. The incident took place on 25 March 2011 and resulted in the death of four civilians in addition to two insurgents. An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) investigation was carried out and concluded that the actions of the Reaper crew had been in accordance with extant procedures and ISAF rules of engagement.

Afghanistan

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish documents held by his Department relating to the investigation into a British drone strike that led to Afghan civilian fatalities on 25 March 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: Any incident involving civilian casualties is a matter of deep regret and we take every possible measure to avoid such incidents. We have strict procedures, frequently updated in the light of experience, intended both to minimise the risk of casualties occurring and to investigate any alleged incidents. The incident of 25 March 2011 is the only one in which civilian fatalities are known to have resulted from a UK Reaper strike. A UK Reaper, operating in support of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces, was tasked to engage and destroy two pick-up trucks. The strike resulted in the deaths of two insurgents and the destruction of a significant quantity of explosives being carried on the trucks. Sadly, four Afghan civilians were also killed and a further two Afghan civilians were injured. A joint ISAF-Afghan investigation was conducted to establish if any lessons could be learned or if errors in operational procedures could be identified. The report concluded that the actions of the Reaper crew had been in accordance with ISAF procedures and rules of engagement. I am withholding the report as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice, the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Aircraft Carriers

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision not to fit catapult and arrestor technology to Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers on the prospects for Joint Maritime Task Groups.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 25 June 2012
	I refer the right hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 10 May 2012, Official Report, columns 140-42. Announcing the decision to switch the planned order for Joint Strike Fighter aircraft from Carrier Varriant to Short-take-off and Vertical Landing, he made clear that a focus on joint maritime task groups ensuring carrier availability, rather than cross-deck operations is the appropriate route to optimising alliance capabilities.

Armed Forces: Complaints

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the time limits are for investigating a service redress of complaint at the first level of investigation.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 25 June 2012
	Service complaints are categorised in accordance with their complexity. The time limit for less complex complaints is set at 60 days for the first level, and for more complex complaints, it is set at 120 days.

Armed Forces: Discrimination

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions Ministers in his Department have had with insurers on tackling discrimination against veterans in the workplace; and what the outcome was of any such discussions.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 21 June 2012
	The Ministry of Defence encourages all employers to value the skills and experience which former service personnel can bring to the workplace.

Armed Forces: Discrimination

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions Ministers in his Department have had with (a) mobile telephone suppliers and (b) mortgage lenders on tackling discrimination against service people; and what the outcome was of any such discussions.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 21 June 2012
	The Government have worked closely with credit reference agencies and other partners, including the Royal Mail, to help us to improve financial capability among service personnel and to address the difficulties faced by those with a history of rapidly changing or British Forces Post Office (BFPO) addresses. Through the Home Finance Forum, work has been undertaken to introduce a new system for handling credit rating assessments for those with a BFPO address.
	We have agreement with The UK Cards Association, the British Bankers' Association, the Finance and Leasing Association the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Societies Association for them to take account of the circumstances of service personnel in order to avoid disadvantage.
	Service personnel facing credit rating difficulties because of periods of time spent abroad should approach prospective mortgage lenders and/or prospective landlords or letting agents to instruct their credit reference checking agencies to undertake a manual check of the individual's circumstances, rather than an automated one.
	A technical solution has been developed by the BFPO, in conjunction with Royal Mail, which will allow the allocation of a 'shadow postcode' against a BFPO address. As well as helping to overcome credit rating difficulties for those with periods of living abroad, this will better enable individuals to access online retail and other financial services and will allow the completion of Government online forms. The new BFPO shadow postcodes were released in April 2012.

Armed Forces: Harassment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on fees for civilian harassment case officers investigating service redress of complaints in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 25 June 2012
	For the FY 2011-12 the Ministry of Defence spent in the region of £82,000 for civilian harassment case officers investigating service complaints.

Armed Forces: Harassment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Army's guidelines are on bullying and harassment in the workplace.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 25 June 2012
	The Army seeks to promote equality of opportunity for all personnel. It has a zero tolerance policy on bullying, harassment and discrimination and seeks to provide an inclusive environment for all and to ensure respect for others.
	Clear policy and guidance is provided at all levels of the chain of command through the Army's equality and diversity (E&D) directives, E&D training and through briefings to personnel. Those who are found to fall short of the standards and behaviours expected are dealt with appropriately by their commanders by way of administrative or disciplinary action.
	Individuals who feel they are experiencing any form of bullying, harassment or discrimination can seek assistance and support from their unit E&D adviser, the Army Welfare Service and the Chaplaincy Service including the provision of chaplaincy support for the five main non-Christian faiths. Alternatively they can contact the Army's bullying, harassment and discrimination helpline, which has been set up independently of the chain of command. If an individual wishes to make a formal complaint they may do so through the Service Complaints system or externally through the Service Complaints Commissioner's office.

Armed Forces: Personnel

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the current (a) established unit strength, (b) manning level, (c) number of personnel from the Commonwealth and (d) cost in the last financial year for which figures are available is of the (i) 1st Battalion, The Coldstream Guards, (ii) 2nd Battalion, the Tigers, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, (iii) The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, (iv) Public duties companies of Brigade of Guards, (v) 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, (vi) 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, (vii) Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, (viii) 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, (ix) 2nd Battalion, The Royal Welsh, (x) 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, (xi) 4th Battalion, The Rifles Regiment, (xii) 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, (xiii) The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, (xiv) 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, (xv) 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, (xvi) Royal Dragoon Guards, (xvii) 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment, (xviii) Queen's Royal Lancers, (xix) 1st Battalion, (Vikings), The Royal Anglian Regiment, (xx) 3rd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, (xxi) The Welsh Guards, (xxii) King's Royal Hussars, (xxiii) Light Dragoons, (xxiv) 1st Royal Tank Regiment, (xxv) 1st Battalion, The Grenadier Guards, (xxvi) 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh and (xxvii) Royal Welch Fusiliers;
	(2)  what the current (a) established unit strength, (b) manning level, (c) number of personnel from the Commonwealth and (d) cost in the last financial year for which figures are available is of the (i) 3rd Battalion, The Rifles Regiment, (ii) 2nd Battalion, The Rifles Regiment, (iii) 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment, (iv) 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, (v) 3rd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment, (vi) 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, (vii) Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, (viii) 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, (ix) 9th/12th Royal Lancers, (x) 5th Battalion, The Rifles Regiment, (xi) 1st Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, (xii) Queen's Royal Hussars, (xiii) 1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, (xiv) 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, (xv) 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, (xvi) 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles, (xvii) 1st Battalion, The Rifles Regiment, (xviii) 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, (xix) 2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles, (xx) 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, (xxi) Royal Scots Borders, 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, (xxii) Household Cavalry Regiment and (xxiii) Queen's Dragoon Guards.

Nick Harvey: The establishment and strength for the relevant units, as at April 2012, is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Establishment Strength Strength of Commonwealth and other non-UK personnel 
			 1 Grenadier Guards 536 520 70 
			 1 Coldstream Guards 535 462 25 
			 1 Scots Guards 603 545 45 
			 1 Irish Guards 537 483 95 
			 Welsh Guards 530 506 40 
			 Public Duties element 300 306 30 
			 1 Scots 535 517 55 
			 2 Scots 528 448 65 
			 3 Scots 537 520 75 
			 4 Scots 608 460 90 
			 5 Scots 556 465 80 
			 1 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment 599 594 90 
			 2 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment 535 541 65 
		
	
	
		
			 1 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 599 601 70 
			 2 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 532 523 65 
			 1 Royal Anglian 571 565 35 
			 2 Royal Anglian 538 528 25 
			 1 Lancs 571 551 35 
			 2 Lancs 523 489 35 
			 1 Yorks 533 408 65 
			 2 Yorks 532 487 60 
			 3 Yorks 599 593 70 
			 1 Mercian 533 494 35 
			 2 Mercian 527 439 50 
			 3 Mercian 604 507 75 
			 1 Royal Welsh 527 501 45 
			 2 Royal Welsh 575 529 50 
			 1 RIFLES 532 504 70 
			 2 RIFLES 528 506 85 
			 3 RIFLES 527 511 60 
			 4 RIFLES 571 551 65 
			 5 RIFLES 599 575 90 
			 1 Royal Irish 554 554 150 
			 2 Para 553 463 25 
			 3 Para 548 500 30 
			 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles 552 608 608 
			 2 Royal Gurkha Rifles 573 628 628 
			 Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment 379 390 35 
			 Household Cavalry Regiment 306 336 25 
			 Queen's Dragoon Guards 295 281 15 
			 Scots Dragoon Guards 415 337 65 
			 Royal Dragoon Guards 396 340 15 
			 Queen's Royal Hussars 411 354 15 
			 9/12 Lancers 295 264 10 
			 King's Royal Hussars 396 358 10 
			 Light Dragoons 379 352 15 
			 Queen's Royal Lancers 379 340 10 
			 1 Royal Tank Regiment 358 340 30 
			 2 Royal Tank Regiment 396 370 20 
		
	
	The establishment and strength figures comprise only those soldiers from that unit's specific Arm or Corps, and thus exclude any supporting personnel from other Corps.
	Some units will have lower establishment levels than is required due to historic recruiting problems and therefore a more realistic recruiting target has been set.
	The term “Commonwealth and other non-UK strength” comprises individuals from Commonwealth countries, the Republic of Ireland and Nepal. Numbers under this category have been rounded to the nearest five.
	The corresponding financial information relating to the listed units would be a combination of personnel, training, infrastructures, and equipment. This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Personnel

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff regarded to be suitably qualified and experienced personnel for work at defence munitions sites have left such employment at each such site in each of the last two years.

Andrew Robathan: The statistics held by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) on staff who have left Defence Munitions sites do not provide sufficient detail to identify the skills of those individuals who have left. The following table therefore identifies all civilian staff who have left Defence Munitions sites, irrespective of their qualifications and experience. The statistics do not include military personnel who were, in most instances, posted to new appointments elsewhere in the MOD. Over the same periods, 130 civilian staff joined Defence Munitions (statistics gathered on the same basis as for those who have left).
	
		
			 Site 2010-11 2011-12 Totals 
			 Beith 10 20 30 
			 Crombie 2 18 20 
			 Glen Douglas 6 9 15 
			 Gosport 21 24 45 
			 Kineton 19 14 33 
			 Plymouth 13 23 36 
			 Longtown 11 13 24 
			 Wulfen 0 0 0 
			 Other sites (including HQs) 3 7 10 
			 Totals 85 128 213

Armed Forces: Pay

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions his Department has sought to recover advance payments of salary from the families of service personnel killed on active service since 2000.

Andrew Robathan: We never ask families of those killed in service to pay money back. Our aim is always to ensure families receive the right amount of money as quickly as possible and to conduct a reconciliation of their pay accounts as soon as all the information becomes available to us.
	We do not collect any money from the families of deceased service personnel, but we do adjust future payments to ensure families are paid all monies to which they are entitled.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether changes to public service pensions will affect only new entrants into the armed forces; and what his policy is on applying such changes to existing service personnel.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 25 June 2012
	Changes to public service pensions will affect all individuals who are actively serving in the armed forces when the new pension schemes are introduced in 2015, unless they are covered by transitional protection. This protection means that those individuals who were within 10 years of their scheme's normal pension age on 1 April 2012 will not have to join the new pension scheme and will be unaffected by the changes.
	These changes are in accordance with the Government's acceptance of the recommendations of Lord Hutton's Independent Public Service Pensions Commission as a basis for consultation with public service workers.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Government are planning to make any retrospective changes to public service pensions for serving armed forces personnel; and whether the consent of such personnel is required before they enter into new pension arrangements.

Andrew Robathan: It has been the policy of successive Governments not to make retrospective changes to public sector pensions. The new Armed Forces Pension Scheme, currently under consultation, is no exception to this. There are no plans to make any retrospective changes to service pensions for serving armed forces personnel.
	The consent of service personnel is not required before they enter into new pension arrangements because the Government will introduce a Public Services Pensions Bill, as soon as parliamentary time allows, which will replace existing schemes with new public service schemes to be in place from 2015.

Armed Forces: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder amongst serving and former soldiers;
	(2)  how many soldiers who are on operational duties he estimates suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder; and what steps he has put in place to offer such soldiers assistance.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 25 June 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 June 2012, Official Report, column 447W, to the hon. Member for Luton North (Kelvin Hopkins).
	The Ministry of Defence takes the issue of mental health very seriously, and we recognise that operational deployments will inevitably expose personnel to stressful experiences. The psychological welfare of troops (which covers general wellbeing as well as mental health) is a fundamental chain of command responsibility, and personnel benefit greatly, in terms of mental health, by being within well led units with good support from their colleagues.
	Measures are in place to increase awareness at all levels and to mitigate the development of operational stresses. Primary preventative measures include selection for fitness at recruitment, provision of good leadership, and robust training for all personnel. Secondary preventative measures include psycho-education, use of Trauma Risk Management (TRiM), and post-operational stress management, all of which aim at early detection of problems. Unit-based non-healthcare professionals such as chaplains, TRiM practitioners and welfare staff also have a vital role in supporting the chain of command in maintaining a good state of mental health among unit personnel and in signposting those in need of treatment to the Defence Medical Services. The families of returning personnel are also offered advice on the possible after-effects of an operational deployment.
	Another key aim is to reduce the stigma that is sometimes attached to mental illness, which is an issue in the civilian world as well as the armed forces. This is being actively addressed through such programmes as the Army's 'Don't Bottle It Up' campaign, and in the deployment briefings provided to personnel and their families. By encouraging people to come forward as soon as they begin to feel ill, we can provide treatment at an early stage and hopefully prevent the illness developing further or recurring at a later date, including after they have left the armed forces.
	Personnel leaving the armed forces are given advice on seeking help at an early stage if they have concerns about their mental health. The MOD and Department of Health are working together to improve the mental health care provided to ex-service personnel and veterans' mental health is an area which has received significant attention from this Government in the past two years. Following the publication of ‘Fighting Fit', the report by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr. Murrison), the Government pledged £1.8 million per annum for the remainder of the spending review period to implement its recommendations. Much work has already been completed, such as the launch of a 24-hour veterans telephone helpline, a trial of the online wellbeing service 'Big White Wall' and an e-learning package for NHS general practitioners to familiarise themselves with veteran-specific health problems.
	There has been an uplift in the number of mental health professionals conducting veterans outreach work, from 15 to 30. In addition, the number of professionals working for Combat Stress in partnership with the NHS takes this total to nearer 50. Plans are in place to establish a national veterans' mental health clinical network.
	Furthermore, each of the 10 armed forces networks (based geographically in the old strategic health authority areas) has received £150,000 from the Department of Health with which to build up enhanced community veterans' mental health services in their areas. These services are now up and running in almost every region with the remainder planned to come on line by the end of this calendar year. These services were developed in conjunction with local groups, for the local population.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Richard Drax: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any soldiers have been made redundant before qualifying for a full pension.

Andrew Robathan: In order to ensure that the redundancy programme is fair to all involved, clear selection criteria have been published by each of the services. While rank and seniority are factors which are reflected in selection fields, length of reckonable service, which is closely associated with age, is not.
	While we do not comment on specific personal cases, some soldiers will leave on redundancy before qualifying for a full pension. The Armed Forces Redundancy Schemes pay larger tax free redundancy compensation lump sums to those who narrowly miss out on immediate incomes than they do to those who qualify, and many of those who leave before qualifying are likely to have been applicants for redundancy.
	Whereas the majority of other ranks normally have to serve for 22 years before receiving an immediate income, the Armed Forces Redundancy Schemes reduce this requirement to 18 years. This concession of four years will enable many redundees to receive an immediate income for which they would otherwise not have qualified.

Armed Forces: Redundancy

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on redundancy payments for armed forces personnel in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Andrew Robathan: The total amounts the Ministry of Defence has spent on redundancy payments for armed forces personnel in 2010, 2011 and 2012, are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Total (£) 
			 2010-11 0 
			 2011-12 47,756,282 
			 2012-13 as at 31 May 2012 20,146,174 
			 Total 67,902,456

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many allegations of rape made by members of the armed forces concluded with charges being (a) brought and (b) dropped in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: The following table details the number of allegations of rape referred to the service prosecuting authority by the service police, the number of cases where charges have been directed for trial (brought) and the number of cases not directed for trial since the start of 2010:
	
		
			 Number 
			  Allegations referred Cases where charges are directed for trial Cases not directed For trial 
			 2010 21 9 11 
			 2011 18 7 11 
			 2012 (to 19 June) 7 3 0 
		
	
	Allegations referred in any one year are not necessarily tried, or directed for trial in the same year, hence the apparent mathematical irregularities in the table.

Defence: Cryptography

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many additional staff members have been recruited to work on the Cipher programme in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Peter Luff: In the last 12 months, four additional Ministry of Defence personnel have been internally recruited to work on the Cipher programme at a total cost of approximately £141,000 per annum.

Diamond Jubilee 2012

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of activities undertaken in connection with the Diamond Jubilee celebration.

Andrew Robathan: Members of the armed forces have been fully involved in marking the 60(th) anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen's accession to the throne. The costs associated with this activity are currently being collated. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as these are available.
	Substantive answer from Andrew Robathan to Roger Godsiff:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question about Diamond Jubilee costs on 19 June 2012, Official Report, column 933W, which were then being collated.
	The costs associated with the Armed Forces Parade and Muster at Windsor, the Thames River Pageant and the Service of Thanksgiving are in the region of £880,000. This figure represents marginal costs incurred as the participation of the Armed Forces was deemed core business. It includes the costs of the flypasts.

Nuclear Submarines

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of whether a viable, continuous, at-sea deterrent is possible with only two operational nuclear-armed submarines.

Philip Hammond: It is the assessment of the Ministry of Defence that a fleet of four Vanguard submarines is currently required to sustain a viable Continuous At Sea Deterrence (CASD) posture. Within a four boat fleet, CASD can be delivered by two operational boats for short periods of time while the other two boats are undergoing maintenance and upgrade periods, but this is not considered viable over the longer term.

Queen's Dragoon Guards

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards.

Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 May 2012, Official Report, column 727W, to the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards).

Territorial Army

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of Territorial Army personnel have civilian jobs (a) in self-employed roles and in businesses with up to 10 employees, (b) in businesses with 11 to 50 employees, (c) in businesses with 51 to 200 employees and (d) in businesses with over 201 employees; and what proportion are on benefits.

Andrew Robathan: This information is not held. However, as part of our consideration of the Future Reserves 2020 report we are exploring how information of this type can be reliably captured in the future.

Territorial Army

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the outflow was of territorial army personnel (a) including and (b) excluding the Officer Training Corps in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: The following table shows the number of Territorial Army (TA) personnel, including and excluding those in the Officer Training Corps (OTC), who left in each of the last four years.
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Total Territorial Army outflow (including Officer Training Corps) 9,160 10,510 8,210 7,890 
			 Total Territorial Army outflow (excluding Officer Training Corps) 6,790 7,670 6,290 5,720 
		
	
	Data for outflow of TA personnel during the FY 2007-08 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The outflow numbers include those individuals who left the TA to join other parts of the armed forces. If there is a period of one month or greater between an individual leaving the OTC and joining the TA they are included in the outflow statistics.
	Members of the TA are employed under different terms and conditions to the regular Army and can leave at any time, unless they have been formally selected for mobilisation.
	Cadets join the Officer Training Corps while at university and can resign at any time. There is no obligation for them to join the armed forces when they leave university.

PRIME MINISTER

Abid Hussain

Michael Dugher: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has met Abid Hussain in an official capacity.

David Cameron: I have not had any official meetings with Abid Hussain. Abid Hussain was one of 150 guests invited to Downing street in November 2010 to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Adha.

Abid Hussain

Michael Dugher: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  whether (a) he, (b) his special advisers and (c) his civil servants were aware that Abid Hussain would be accompanying the Minister without Portfolio on any official overseas visits;
	(2)  whether he cleared Abid Hussain to accompany the Minister without Portfolio on any of her official visits to Pakistan.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, on 25 June 2012, Official Report, column 115W.

Conservative Friends of Pakistan

Michael Dugher: To ask the Prime Minister whether (a) he and (b) his special advisers have had meetings with representatives of the Conservative Friends of Pakistan at No. 10 Downing Street since May 2010.

David Cameron: No.

Leveson Inquiry

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library copies of all documents, e-mails and text messages he submitted to the Leveson Inquiry; [R]
	(2)  how many times he has met Rebekah Brooks since May 2010; [R]
	(3)  with reference to his contribution to the Leveson Inquiry on 14 June 2012, afternoon hearing, lines 5 to 22, on what dates he has met (a) Rebekah Brooks, (b) Charlie Brooks, (c) Andy Coulson and (d) James Murdoch since May 2010. [R]

David Cameron: The information requested is publicly available on the Leveson Inquiry website:
	http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/evidence/?witness=david-cameron-mp

Staffing Costs

David Winnick: To ask the Prime Minister what the full duties are of Stephen Gilbert, his political secretary; what proportion of his time is spent on matters relating to (a) Government and (b) Conservative Party business; and whether his salary is paid fully from public funds.

David Cameron: The staffing costs for my political office are a matter for the Conservative party.

Visits Abroad

Michael Dugher: To ask the Prime Minister whether he plans to review the rules on non-governmental aides attending foreign trips with Ministers.

David Cameron: Ministers' visits overseas are subject to the Ministerial Code.

Visits Abroad

Michael Dugher: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he directed the Minister without Portfolio to attend any of the official overseas trips she has participated in since May 2010;
	(2)  whether the Minister without Portfolio has been allocated any specific foreign policy role in regard to the Government's relations with Pakistan.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, on 25 June 2012, Official Report, column 124W.

Visits Abroad

Michael Dugher: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  whether his officials have approved the official overseas travel undertaken by the Minister without Portfolio since May 2010;
	(2)  what his policy is on foreign Governments paying for UK Ministers to go on official overseas trips.

David Cameron: The Ministerial Code sets out the requirements for overseas travel.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Consultants

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was remitted by his Department to (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) KPMG, (c) Deloitte, (d) Ernst and Young and (e) the Adam Smith Institute in each of the last five financial years for which figures are available.

Alan Duncan: DFID's central finance records show the following expenditure (in GBP pounds sterling) against the UK and overseas entities of the requested suppliers:
	
		
			 Supplier 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers 6,492,601.38 12,356,644.52 24,287,934.54 
			 KPMG 29,204,351.09 37,573,146.58 39,439,394.62 
			 Deloitte 1,109,572.08 934,226.03 1,122,022 
			 Ernst and Young 130,760.40 248,235 2,922,172.92 
			 Adam Smith 31,181,433.40 37,083,997.43 44,914,334.60 
		
	
	These remittances comprise payment for services provided directly to DFID but also include remittances where they retain a fee and disburse a much larger amount to others. Such amounts are included within the totals in the table above.
	The Department's central procurement records do not hold details of contracts let below the EU threshold, which fall within the delegated authority of spending Departments, including country offices. To provide this level of detail would incur disproportionate cost. Those contracts which exceed the EU threshold are subject to the Department’s competitive tender process, in line with EU regulations.

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many procurement card holders in his Department were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Alan Duncan: In 2011-12, DFID had 76 procurement card holders of which (a) all are on DFID payroll, (b) four are part-time and (c) seven are people currently on secondment into DFID from other Government Departments.
	We have insufficient historical data to provide answers for 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on which dates his Department has published Government procurement card spending over £500 since May 2010.

Alan Duncan: DFID procurement card transactions over £500 are published on the DFID website
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/DFID-Government-Procurement-Card-transactions-over-500/
	This includes all expenditure over £500 dating back to April 2010. This information has been published on the DFID website since July 2011 with earlier information published in February 2012.

Nigeria

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department plans to provide further support to civil society organisations in Nigeria to provide oversight on public expenditure in the education sector through accountability and transparency initiatives.

Stephen O'Brien: The UK is providing support to monitor and track financial expenditure through the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria. This programme supports civil society and school based management committees to hold local governments and schools accountable for funds. The UK is currently in discussion with key civil society organisations as to what further support might be needed.

Sahel

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to prevent famine in the Sahel; and whether he will provide additional funding if he deems it necessary to prevent a worsening of the situation.

Stephen O'Brien: The United Nations currently estimates that the food crisis in the Sahel region of west Africa has left over 18 million people at risk of food shortage over the next few months. Of these, 8 million people require urgent assistance.
	Having been in the region earlier this month, I can confirm that the scale of the needs are great, but the UK's early assistance is already achieving results and helping to avert the worst of the crisis, which nonetheless continues.
	In response to the unfolding crisis, the UK provided two contributions of £5 million each in January and March 2012.
	I confirm that we have announced over the past two weeks a further package of assistance. Worth an additional £15.4 million, this more than doubles UK assistance to the region in 2012, to a total of £25.4 million.
	Through this assistance, British aid this year will support 1.6 million people at risk of hunger across Mali, Niger, Chad, Mauritania and Burkina Faso, to achieve the following results:
	Improved nutrition for 185,000 children and women (including therapeutic treatment to save the lives of over 110,000 severely malnourished children under five years old);
	Food and cash vouchers for over 250,000 men, women and children;
	Livelihoods support to over 980,000 people through:
	1. The provision of seeds and tools for families to enable them to feed themselves for the next year; and
	2. Animal feed and vaccinations to keep farmers' livestock alive.
	These direct funds are in addition to £27 million of UK contributions also being provided in 2012 to the Sahel region through multilateral agencies such as the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
	I and my officials will continue to monitor the situation closely and liaise with our opposite numbers in other Governments to urge that other countries also take their fair share of the response.

Syria

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received on the humanitarian situation of Syrian refugees at the Turkish, Lebanese, Jordanian and Iraqi borders.

Alan Duncan: The UN estimates there are over 93,000 Syrian refugees in need of assistance in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, and numbers are steadily increasing. Priority humanitarian needs among Syrian refugees continue to be food and basic supplies, shelter and assistance with rent, access to safe water and sanitation, as well as support for host communities. Many Syrians fleeing the violence require emergency medical assistance as well as basic health care and psychological support. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is co-ordinating with other humanitarian agencies to provide assistance for people fleeing Syria, in addition to the support and services the Governments of neighbouring countries are providing. I recently visited the Jordan-Syria border where I met families who had fled some of the worst affected parts of Syria. I also saw the tremendous efforts the UN and Governments of neighbouring countries are making to support those fleeing the violence.
	The UK has so far provided £2 million to UNHCR to provide accommodation, food, and other essential support to meet the needs of Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. This is in addition to substantial core funding which the Department provides to UNHCR for its global operations. The UK is also funding the UN and humanitarian agencies working to provide much needed food, water and sanitation, and medical assistance in Syria and the region. Our total funding to date now stands at £8.5 million to meet humanitarian needs. We speak regularly to our humanitarian partners to assess what further help may be needed.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Abid Hussain

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department were aware that Abid Hussain would be accompanying the Minister without Portfolio on official visits abroad.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 25 June 2012, Official Report, column 115W.

Abid Hussain

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) senior officials in his Department have met Abid Hussain.

Alistair Burt: Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations are available in the Library of the House.
	On a few occasions Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have met with Mr Hussain to discuss issues relating to overseas Pakistanis and British Nationals.

Air Displays: Farnborough

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the statement of 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 45, on Syria, if he will make representations to the organisers of the July 2012 Farnborough Air Show that they should withdraw their invitation to Rosoboronexport to exhibit at that show.

Alistair Burt: Farnborough International Air Show is a commercial event, run by Farnborough International Ltd. The British Government plays no part in determining which companies-are invited to exhibit.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has made clear to Foreign Minister Lavrov on several occasions his deep concerns about continued Russian arms transfers to the Syrian Regime.

Armed Conflict: Children

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the UN Report on Children and Armed Conflict published in April 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Henry Bellingham: We welcome this report, covering the period January to December 2011, which gives a useful overview of the situation of girls and boys in conflict zones and measures taken for their protection, covering the period January to December 2011. It is welcome that the information gathered is vetted and verified for accuracy.
	We commend the pragmatic approach taken by the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) for Children and Armed Conflict, who has emphasised the humanitarian aspects to this issue, with the aim of ensuring broad and effective protection for children exposed to and affected by conflict in situations of concern. The SRSG has rightly reminded all parties of their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and in particular the principles of distinction and proportionality and the duty to protect children and prevent violations, taking all necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties.
	We are encouraged to see the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1998 (2011). which called for the SRSG to list parties who used children to launch attacks on schools and hospitals. It is also good that the report lists parties who recruit and use children, kill and maim them and commit sexual violence against them.

Azerbaijan

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Azerbaijan on refugees and internally displaced persons in that country.

David Lidington: Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis and Armenians are displaced as a direct result of the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, over Nagorno Karabakh. The fundamental problem can only be resolved through a negotiated peaceful settlement.
	In meetings with relevant Armenian and Azerbaijani interlocutors, including with both Foreign Ministers and Presidents, the British Government urges both sides to use all available diplomatic means, in particular the Minsk Group process, to achieve such a settlement. The Prime Minister raised the issue with the Azerbaijani President on 21 May 2012 at the NATO Chicago summit and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised this with the Armenian Foreign Minister on 13 July 2011 in London.
	The British Government fund a number of peace building initiatives, in support of dialogue and reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and support the UN Refugee Agency's work on strengthening the asylum system and assisting refugees to become self-reliant.
	In recent weeks, tension has escalated along the northern border and the line of contact around Nagorno Karabakh itself. Together with other EU member states, we have called on both countries to show restraint and to refrain from further violence.

Belarus

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the EU High Representative on sending election monitoring missions to Belarus to oversee the recently-announced parliamentary elections.

David Lidington: The Government have had no discussions with the EU High Representative on this issue. The state of democracy and human rights in Belarus remains poor, making effective monitoring of the 23 September parliamentary elections particularly important. Along with our EU partners, the Government will encourage Belarus to invite a monitoring mission from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for the parliamentary elections. The UK would offer strong support to any such mission.

Complaints

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many complaints about the work of his Department and each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies were received in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: Records of complaints received by our network of diplomatic posts around the world are not held centrally and cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. Information on complaints raised with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) by the parliamentary ombudsman are recorded on page 29 of the FCO’s annual departmental report:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/publications/annual-reports/annual-report-accounts-2010-11
	For the period April 2010-March 2011, 1,061 complaints relating to the FCO’s consular services were received by consular staff based in the UK. For the period April 2011-March 2012, 191 complaints relating to the FCO’s consular services were received by consular staff based in the UK. There was a change in reporting method for the 2011-12 figures, which do not include complaints regarding passports and visas following the transfer of responsibility to the Overseas Passport Management Unit/Identity and Passport Service and the UK Border Agency respectively.
	FCO Services is an Executive agency and trading fund of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which operates commercially and competes with private sector suppliers for the provision of secure logistics, project and information communication technology services. As an organisation it supplies products and services to the UK Government and other international institutions and Governments with which the UK has close links. FCO Services has a formal complaints procedure to enable its government customers to resolve issues as they arise. Eight cases were logged through this procedure in 2010-11 and six in 2011-12. Complaints received outside of this formal procedure are not recorded.
	The British Council is an Executive non-departmental body of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It is also a registered charity, and is incorporated by Royal Charter. The British Council does not hold a central log of complaints received across its global network. Offices overseas each have a designated complaints manager and deal with any complaints which arise locally. The British Council has recently begun to collect feedback which includes complaints on its UK operations. In 2011-12 383 such enquiries were received using this mechanism.
	Wilton Park is an Executive agency of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which organises conferences on international topics. Wilton Park does not hold central records of complaints received, and it did not receive any complaints about its service in 2010-11 or 2011-12. Feedback from conference delegates indicate that the conferences are well received.
	The Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission is a non-departmental body of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It administers the Marshall Scholarship programme, which provides scholarships to students from the USA to pursue postgraduate study in the UK. The Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission has a formal complaints procedure. It did not receive any complaints about its work in 2010-11 or 2011-12.
	The Great Britain China Centre does not hold central records of complaints received.

Egypt

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the conduct of the recent elections in Egypt.

Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs issued a statement on 19 June in which he welcomed the peaceful conduct of the second round of Egypt's presidential elections. Following the announcement of the results on 24 June, he congratulated the Egyptian people for their commitment to the democratic process and wished the new President of Egypt, Dr Mohammed Mursi, success in the challenging task ahead.
	The election monitoring missions of the Carter Center and the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), both of which were partly funded by the Arab Partnership, concluded that while the uncertain political environment in which the elections were held was of concern, the conduct on polling days was largely orderly and free from major and systematic flaws that unfairly advantaged either candidate. This assessment was shared by embassy staff in Cairo who visited over 100 polling stations throughout Egypt during the first and second rounds of the presidential elections.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on (a) gas and (b) electricity bills in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  which energy supplier supplies his Department with (a) gas and (b) electricity;
	(3)  whether his Department switched its (a) gas or (b) electricity supplier in any of the last 10 years.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has spent the following amounts on gas and electricity in the UK in the past eight years. Figures prior to 2003-04 are not available on a comparable basis.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Gas Electricity 
			 2011-12 13,868 2,530,841 
			 2010-11 37,959 2,539,432 
			 2009-10 46,513 3,030,620 
			 2008-09 44,078 3,216,694 
			 2007-08 26,323 1,892,457 
			 2006-07 25,740 1,596,434 
			 2005-06 36,610 1,282,301 
			 2004-05 16,600 870,899 
		
	
	Energy usage increased significantly with the opening of Data Centres for storing electronic records in 2008-09. Cost reductions from 2010 onwards reflect FCO actions to meet sustainability targets, such as installation of low energy lighting and improved efficiency of other electrical equipment. As a result of estimated gas readings in 2010-11 the FCO was charged more than actual usage; 2011-12 costs were therefore significantly lower as this figure reflects a credit.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office uses the following suppliers across the UK Estate:
	Gas—Corona Energy and E-ON
	Electricity—EDF
	Corona Energy supply gas to Lancaster House and 1 Carlton Gardens as domestic users and E-ON to King Charles Street on a commercial tariff. The Old Admiralty Building and Hanslope Park are not supplied with Gas.
	In 2008 The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK changed its gas supplier from British Gas to Corona Energy and its electricity supplier from London Energy to EDF.
	All supplies are purchased through Government Procurement Service suppliers to achieve best value through Government-wide framework contracts.
	The detail of energy suppliers and costs for our overseas network is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost

EU Enlargement

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last met the President of the Council of Ministers to discuss EU enlargement; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The Government are a strong supporter of EU enlargement for all of the countries of the Western Balkans, Iceland and Turkey when conditions are met. We hope that each country will continue to make progress against the conditions, and progress along the path to their EU future. I frequently discuss the question of EU enlargement, in these terms, with a wide range of EU interlocutors. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs most recently discussed these issues with EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Füle, on 29 May 2012. Ministers also discuss the progress of countries throughout the year in the Council. For example we discussed at the 29 May General Affairs Council the European Commission's Interim Monitoring Report on Croatia, assessing Croatia's continued progress towards fully meeting the conditions for membership ahead of its expected accession to the EU on 1 July 2013. And we hope to be able to open accession negotiations with Montenegro in June. We look forward to further substantive discussion in December of all countries and their progress towards the EU on the basis of the European Commission's Annual Enlargement Package, published in the autumn.

Israel

Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Oxford East of 11 June 2012, Official Report, columns 230-31W, on Israel, whether his Department may specify the exclusion of settlement products in purchasing goods and services under existing UK and EU procurement guidelines.

Alistair Burt: The grounds for rejection of a supplier under UK and EU procurement law are set out in the relevant legislation. It would have to be considered whether, on the facts of a particular case, any of these grounds applied.

Libya

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department is giving to Libya for its transition to parliamentary democracy.

Alistair Burt: In response to Libyan requests, we have contributed £1.5 million to the UN Libyan Electoral Assistance Programme, which is providing practical and logistical assistance for the elections, including security, education and media planning. We are also funding the training of local electoral observers, projects to help women's groups advocate their views, electoral education projects focusing on women and youth and police advisers and training to assist effective election security co-ordination.

Minister without Portfolio

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Minister without Portfolio has been given official responsibilities by his Department.

David Lidington: As a Cabinet Minister, the Minister without Portfolio represents the UK Government when on official visits abroad as part of the Government's work to enhance bilateral relations and support foreign policy objectives.

Politics and Government: Indonesia

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he raised the matter of human rights in West Papua with the Government of Indonesia during his visit there in April 2012.

Jeremy Browne: During my meeting with the Indonesian President we discussed a full range of issues including the importance of maintaining progress on human rights and the challenges of handling regional autonomy issues.

Sudan: South Sudan

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to support the political negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan in Addis Ababa and ensure their successful completion.

Henry Bellingham: We continue to make clear to both countries that they must comply with the African Union (AU) roadmap and negotiate substantively on a comprehensive settlement. We are fully supporting President Mbeki and the AU High Level Implementation Panel in their mediation efforts. The UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan is also attending the latest round of talks which started on 21 June. We will continue to provide practical and political support to the process where needed, in close co-ordination with other interested partners.

Thailand

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the advert for a locally engaged correspondence and customer services manager at the British Embassy in Thailand in June 2011 was re-advertised in August 2011.

Damian Green: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The position of correspondence and customer services manager in Bangkok was re-advertised in August 2011 as none of the candidates who applied for the job in June 2011 was found to be suitable for the position.

Visits Abroad

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many official overseas trips by Government Ministers have been paid for by foreign Governments since May 2010.

David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers are regularly hosted by foreign Governments as part of their official duties. This can include covering some of the costs of accommodation, travel and security support.
	The FCO does not hold records on the funding of overseas trips undertaken by non-FCO Ministers. The Government publishes on a quarterly basis information about Ministers' visits overseas. Information for the period May 2010 to December 2011 is in the Library of the House.

World Refugee Day

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to mark World Refugee Day 2012.

Jeremy Browne: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not mark World Refugee Day on 20 June 2012. The UK is very proud to be a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and of its ongoing commitment to provide sanctuary to those in genuine need of protection. The Convention remains as relevant and important today as it has ever been. The UK's Department for International Development provides substantial long-term care funding to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which provides protection and assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons all around the word. In 2010 UNHCR helped over 25 million people which is 58% of all people displaced worldwide.

JUSTICE

Contempt of Court

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were (a) prosecuted, (b) convicted and (c) received custodial sentences for contempt of court in a county court in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute. It is therefore not possible to separately identify offences of contempt of court arising from a county court ruling or judgment from offences of contempt of court arising from a ruling or judgment in other courts.
	For the available statistical information on contempt of court I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 June 2012, Official Report, column 610W.

Curfews

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of offenders who committed a more serious breach of a curfew under a community order or suspended sentence were brought back to court by (a) offender managers as the responsible officer where the curfew was part of a multi-requirement order and (b) electronic monitoring companies as the responsible officer where the curfew was a single-requirement order in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: It is not possible to provide the number of breaches that were brought to court by offender managers where the curfew was part of a multi-requirement order except at disproportionate cost. The electronic monitoring service providers are not advised of the outcomes of witness statements provided. Information would only be available through a manual trawl of court or police records.
	Where the curfew was a single-requirement order, in financial year 2011-12 all offenders in England and Wales who committed a more serious breach of a curfew under a community order or suspended sentence were brought back to court by the electronic monitoring companies as required.

Cycling: Roads

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  with reference to the letter from British Cycling of 1 June 2012, what assessment he has made of British Cycling's recommendation for a review of the criminal justice system to better protect road users;
	(2)  if he will meet hon. Members and representatives of British Cycling to discuss issues raised in its letter of 1 June 2012;
	(3)  when he plans to reply to the letter from British Cycling of 1 June 2012 regarding a review of the criminal justice system to better protect road users; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his reply.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice has received a letter from British Cycling of 1 June 2012 relating to a review of the criminal justice system to better protect road users. We are consulting with colleagues across Government on the issues raised in the letter before we respond.

Dangerous Dogs

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions for offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 following an attack on a health worker making a home visit there have been in each of the last three years.

Crispin Blunt: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute. From proceedings at the magistrates courts for offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, it is not possible to identify a victim's professional status or specific location at which an offence occurred. This detailed information may be held by the courts on individual case files which due to their size and complexity are not reported to Justice Statistics Analytical Services.
	The number of defendants found guilty at all courts under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in England and Wales, from 2009 to 2011, can be viewed in the table as follows.
	
		
			 Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, England and Wales, 2009 to 2011(1, 2) 
			  Number 
			 2009 884 
			 2010 1,237 
			 2011 1,128 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Demonstrations: Prosecutions

Louise Mensch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions have been brought in each region under section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 in the last 12 months.

Crispin Blunt: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates court, by region for offences under section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 in England and Wales for 2011 can be viewed in the table as follows:
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates court for offences under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, by region, England and Wales, 2011(1, 2) 
			 Statute Offence description Region Proceeded against 
			 Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 S42A Harassment etc. of a person in his home North East 0 
			   North West 1 
			   Yorkshire and Humberside 1 
			   East Midlands 1 
			   West Midlands 1 
			   East of England 1 
			   London 2 
			   South East 0 
			   South West 0 
		
	
	
		
			   Wales 1 
			     
			 Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, S.42 (7A) and (7B) Failing to comply with a direction to leave the vicinity and not to return within a specified period for the purposes of representing to or persuading the resident that he should do something or not do something. Knowingly contravening a direction or conditions given by constable under this section North East 6 
			   North West 31 
			   Yorkshire and Humberside 14 
			   East Midlands 10 
			   West Midlands 0 
			   East of England 3 
			   London 0 
			   South East 12 
			   South West 2 
			   Wales 1 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Driving Offences: Insurance

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of court proceedings arising from the trial of drivers accused of making fraudulent insurance claims in (a) 1997, (b) 2002 and (c) 2011.

Crispin Blunt: The offence of ‘making fraudulent insurance claims’ is likely to be proceeded against under section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006. This includes offenders who dishonestly make false representations to make gains for themselves or cause losses to another person.
	The Ministry of Justice does not collate all details of proceedings. As a result it is not possible to specifically identify and cost proceedings that relate to drivers accused of making fraudulent insurance claims under section 1 of the Act. This information could be obtained only by examining all relevant court records of Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and would incur disproportionate cost.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether his Department has switched its (a) gas or (b) electricity supplier in any of the last 10 years;
	(2)  which energy supplier supplies his Department with (a) gas and (b) electricity;
	(3)  how much his Department has spent on its (a) gas and (b) electricity bills in each of the last 10 years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice started transferring its gas and energy supplies to the Government Procurement Service energy framework from March 2005. Contracts are transferred to the framework as they expire.
	The Department's energy suppliers are (a) Corona for gas and (b) EDF Energy and British Gas for electricity.
	The Ministry of Justice was established on 7 May 2007. The combined spending of the core Department and its Executive agencies (HM Courts and Tribunals Service and its precursors, the National Offender Management Service, the Office of the Public Guardian and its precursor) on (a) gas and (b) electricity in each year since its inception was:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  (a) Gas (b) Electricity 
			 2007-08 29.2 34.5 
			 2008-09 44.4 53.6 
			 2009-10 40.3 48.5 
			 2010-11 34.2 31.8 
			 2011-12 39.8 43.6 
		
	
	The spike in heating costs in 2008-09 is attributed to the extremely cold winter of that year, which at that point was the 10th coldest since Meteorological Office records began.

Probation

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many individuals subject to supervision measures imposed in the UK have had their supervision measures supervised by the authorities of another EU member state under the terms of EU Council Framework Decision 2009/829/JHA in each year since 2009; and how many individuals subject to supervision measures in other EU member states have had their supervision measures supervised by the UK authorities in each year since 2009.

Kenneth Clarke: None: the EU Council Framework decision 2009/829/JHA on
	“the application between member states of the European Union of the principle of mutual recognition to decisions on supervision measures as an alternative to provisional detention”,
	known as the European Supervision Order, is not due to be implemented until 1 December 2012.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to announce whether legal aid will be extended to welfare benefit cases involving points of law in the lower tribunal.

Jonathan Djanogly: We are giving serious thought to this issue and are considering the exact scope of the concession as well as how such work will be delivered in the future. Once we have considered in full we will make an announcement.

Young Offenders

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what strategies he will employ to cut crime among those who have (a) persistently run away from home, (b) been taken into care as a child, (c) regularly truanted from school, (d) been excluded from school and (e) acquired no qualifications.

Crispin Blunt: We recognise that there are a range of risk factors for criminal and offending behaviour.
	Police forces need to tackle crime in line with local priorities, and from November 2012, the election of police and crime commissioners will drive down crime by making policing more accountable and responsive to local needs and concerns. Police.uk now provides the public with street-level information about crime to enable them hold local policing teams to account, and the Government have swept away central targets and are cutting bureaucracy to help free police officers to cut crime.
	At a national level, the Department for Education has set in motion a number of far-reaching reforms to address the entrenched educational and social failures that can drive problems like youth crime and violence. The education reforms will drive up pupil performance and increase participation in further study and employment.
	We are revising the statutory guidance on 'children who run away or go missing from home or care' to give local authorities a clearer understanding of their duties so that they understand the importance of intervening early with this vulnerable group.
	Improving all aspects of the lives of children in care-placement stability, education, health, the daily experience of being in care, the successful transition to adulthood, and strengthening the adoption system are priorities for the Government. We are giving additional financial support at every level of these children's education; and encouraging LAs to provide intensive support for the most vulnerable, especially those who have the most entrenched difficulties and are on the edge of offending.
	We know that regular absence from school leads to low levels of attainment so we have reduced the threshold where a pupil is defined as persistently absent from 20% to 15% so that those children who demonstrate a pattern of missing too much schooling can be picked up early, and the problem addressed. The Government are also implementing all the recommendations in the Taylor report on improving school attendance with exception of the recommendation to deduct unpaid penalty notices from parents' child benefit. The Government are still considering how best to implement the enforcement of unpaid penalty notices.
	The Government have also introduced behaviour reforms in schools to help tackle key root causes of disengagement, lack of attainment, and antisocial behaviour. For example, Government are currently trialling a new approach to exclusion in almost 300 schools. This approach sees schools commissioning preventative services for their most challenging pupils using local authority resources previously dedicated to educating excluded pupils. By addressing poor behaviour earlier we can reduce the need for exclusion and improve the education of vulnerable pupils.
	These reforms will ensure that pupils achieve better outcomes, are motivated to remain in education, and remain on a path to a fulfilling life.
	We are driving up participation in education and training as we prepare to raise the age of compulsory participation to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015. We are providing additional support for disadvantaged young people through the Pupil Premium; investing a record £7.5 billion in education and training places for 16 to 18-year-olds; providing targeted financial support through the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund and investing £126 million support disengaged 16 to 17-year-olds through the Youth Contract. Giving every young person the opportunity to gain the skills and qualifications they need will reduce the risks of unemployment and associated negative outcomes for young people.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agricultural Wages Board

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will publish the risk assessment on her Department's decision to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board;
	(2)  when she plans to bring forward secondary legislation to enable the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board.

James Paice: An impact assessment in respect of abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board will be published as part of the necessary legislative process. As I indicated in the Westminster Hall debate on agricultural employment on 20 June, the timing for bringing forward legislation on the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board is not yet determined.

Agricultural Wages Board

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she proposes that those under 16 who work on farms will receive the national minimum wage or above after the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board.

James Paice: The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 does not apply to children of compulsory school age, in any industry; therefore if the Agricultural Wages Board were abolished, no minimum rate would be set for workers on farms in this age group as is the case elsewhere.

Agriculture: Food

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of the situation in the Eurozone on (a) farmers and (b) food manufacturers in the UK.

James Paice: As part of our normal business DEFRA monitors market developments and stays in touch with stakeholders regarding the implications for their sectors. At the moment, we are actively listening to any particular concerns they raise in light of the current market uncertainty.
	In terms of the outlook, the Government have contingency plans in place to cover a range of eventualities and risks.

Agriculture: Industrial Health and Safety

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Health and Safety Executive on efforts to improve health and safety standards in the agricultural sector.

James Paice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has had no recent discussions with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on the health and safety of agricultural workers. Health and Safety in the agriculture industry is a matter for HSE.
	However, I promised the hon. Gentleman that I would speak with the Health and Safety Executive following the recent debate on agricultural employment. My officials are in the process of arranging a meeting.

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will set a deadline for the implementation of the ban on the use of wild animals in circuses.

James Paice: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement on 1 March 2012, Official Report, columns 41-42WS. A ban will be implemented as soon as parliamentary time allows. As stated on 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 312W.

Common Agricultural Policy

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether farmers will be able to receive payment for ecosystem services under the Common Agricultural Policy Scheme.

James Paice: Pillar two of the common agricultural policy provides funding for environmental outcomes through environmental stewardship. Environmental stewardship, as a mechanism for paying those who deliver a wide range of environmental outcomes from the farmed environment, can be considered a Payment for Ecosystem Services scheme, with Government effectively purchasing public benefits on behalf of a large number of beneficiaries, for example, relating to landscape and biodiversity. The Government are committed to encouraging Payments for Ecosystem Services pilots across a broad spectrum of nature's services and beneficiaries. The Government are in favour of a greener CAP, with a greater proportion spent on public goods, including improved environmental outcomes such as supporting biodiversity and climate mitigation, and will be seeking to secure this in the CAP Reform negotiations.

Dairy Farming

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the dairy milk trade and its effect on dairy farmers; if she will consider introducing a code of practice in the dairy supply chain; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: I can appreciate the difficulties for farmers as a result of recent cuts in milk prices. However, income for all operators in the supply chain will vary as a result of price changes on global agricultural markets. World, EU and UK market prices have all dropped in recent months.
	Industry representatives are currently well engaged in the process of establishing a voluntary Code of Practice for the dairy industry and I fully support these efforts. This has the potential to improve the position of farmers and it could be up and running far more quickly than any legislation. It would also leave the industry in control.

Hazardous Substances

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will take steps to require the addition of a bittering agent to ethylene glycol-based antifreeze to prevent small children and pets from ingesting the product.

James Paice: DEFRA is keen to see improved standards of animal welfare. However, consumer product safety is the remit of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. In addition, the classification and labelling of such products is governed by the CLP/GHS Regulations which are the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive. I will alert the Ministers responsible to your concerns about the well being of both children and animals.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of ending the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme in 2013 on the agricultural workforce.

James Paice: As I said in the Westminster Hall debate on agricultural employment on 20 June 2012, the Home Office has indicated that it intends to consult the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) on the impact of closing SAWS and the case for a future scheme. It is expected that stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide evidence to the MAC. DEFRA officials are in close contact with both Home Office colleagues and industry representatives on these matters.

Sheep: Tagging

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with (a) the National Farmers Union and (b) others on her Department's policy on sheep electronic identification movements and the requirement to read tags all of the time; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The National Farmers Union and other industry representative bodies are consulted regularly on sheep identification issues.
	DEFRA is aware of concerns that incomplete individual animal data in on farm movement records will result in reductions to single farm payments if found during cross compliance inspections. Such inspections take place on 3% of sheep holdings annually.
	Applying a record keeping tolerance risks an EU disallowance fine of several millions of pounds and doing so in 2011 would have saved only five keepers in England an estimated total of £2,680 in reductions, although DEFRA continues to keep the situation under review.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Disability: Employment

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to provide improved information to employees and employers on the support available to help disabled people move into and remain in work; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: Access to Work provides additional support for individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job.
	During her independent review of specialist disability employment provision, Liz Sayce found Access to Work to be a highly effective and popular programme and recommended that it should be transformed from being the best kept secret in Government to being a recognised passport to successful employment.
	We have therefore launched a targeted marketing campaign to increase awareness of the support Access to Work can provide for disabled people both looking for employment and to maintain current employment.
	The campaign will focus on under-represented groups of disabled people—including those with learning disabilities and mental health issues—and employers looking to recruit or retain a disabled person. The overarching objective of the campaign is to increase take up of Access to Work to ensure it is able to support or retain as many disabled people into employment as possible and we will work with a wide range of employer and disability organisations to ensure the Access to Work service is effectively promoted.

Employment and Support Allowance

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 23 April 2012, Official Report, column 652W, on employment and support allowance, how many staff based in his Department's London headquarters at Caxton House, Tothill Street, work on employment and support allowance (a) policy and (b) administration.

Chris Grayling: There are seven officials in Caxton House dedicated specifically to ESA policy (including WCA policy, and supporting professor Harrington's independent reviews). It should be noted however, that there are other officials who provide input as a part of their role. These include analysts, lawyers, doctors and other policy officials.
	The administration of ESA is not carried out by officials at Caxton House—this is a matter for operational teams.

Incapacity Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish data on the number of appeals made against incapacity benefit reassessment outcomes.

Chris Grayling: The requested information is not available.
	The Department does intend to publish appeals data on the number and outcomes of completed appeals against work capability assessment outcomes for incapacity benefit reassessment cases.
	The data will be released once we have performed the required quality assurance and are satisfied with the quality of the statistics.

Incapacity Benefit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of completed incapacity benefit reassessments have been (a) found fit for work, (b) placed in the Support Group or (c) placed in the Work Related Activity Group.

Chris Grayling: In March 2012 the Department released official statistics on the outcomes of incapacity benefits reassessment claims that had been referred for reassessment by the end of July 2011. These are the latest data available.
	The publication can be found on the departmental website at the following link:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_ibr

Motability

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost to the public purse was of assistance provided for taxing vehicles acquired under the Motability scheme in each region in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: All recipients of War Pensioners Mobility Supplement or the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance are entitled to an exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty, whether or not they choose to lease a Motability vehicle.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are responsible for administering Vehicle Excise Duty exemptions. They have advised that the information requested is not collated centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether an equality impact assessment has been made of his policy on universal credit.

Maria Miller: An equality impact assessment for universal credit was published in November 2011 and is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dwp.gov.uk

Universal Credit

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of potential savings arising through online access to universal credit.

Chris Grayling: The universal credit programme currently estimates that up to half of transactions with claimants will be conducted online from go-live in 2013, building towards a target of 80% by the end of the four year migration window. This delivers an estimated saving of £62 million in SR10 rising to £240 million per year from 2018-19.

Universal Credit

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to determine how many benefit recipients are able to access the internet; and what proportion of benefit claimants his Department estimates will use the internet to access universal credit in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

Chris Grayling: A survey of potential claimants to universal credit was conducted in 2011 to determine the percentage of claimants who were at that time able to access the internet. We will publish the results of this survey on 12 July 2012. We expect the proportion of claimants who use the online system, to be in line with published Cabinet Office guidelines of 80% from 2017 onwards. Initial take-up is estimated to be around 50% in 2013 and 2014, 55% in 2015, and to increase towards the target.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what issues are taken into account when determining whether to call in a person in receipt of employment and support allowance for a repeat work capability assessment.

Chris Grayling: As part of the WCA, a healthcare professional will give advice on when they think a claimant's functional capability may have changed sufficiently that a return to work may be possible.
	They must also give a justification for this advice, which is used by the Department to decide when to reassess claimants.
	We recognise that asking customers to attend an unnecessary examination is in no-one's interests, for example, those people with terminal illnesses will not undergo a face-to-face assessment.
	In addition, claimants who are unlikely to return to work in the longer term will be reassessed after two years if they have limited capability for work and after three years if they have limited capability for work- related activity. This is because it is important not to write people off completely, even if an individual is unlikely to see an improvement in their condition.
	Wherever possible, these reassessments will not involve a face-to-face assessment and a decision will be made using paper-based evidence.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many procurement card holders in his Department were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

John Penrose: The number of procurement card holders in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) who were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Paid off-payroll Part-time employees Non-permanent employees 
			 2010-11 1 5 5 
			 2011-12 1 5 6 
		
	
	DCMS does not hold information for the financial year 2009-10.

Mobile Phones

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport with reference to the Government's response to the report from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Spectrum, HC 1771, Session 2010-12, whether it remains his policy that linking spectrum licence fees to the market value of the spectrum determined by the 4G auction is the most likely way to ensure the fees charged to mobile network operators are fair and appropriate to the market value of their spectrum holdings.

Edward Vaizey: The setting of licence fees is a matter for the regulator, Ofcom. Government directed Ofcom in December 2010, once the 4G auction was completed, to revise the licence fees to reflect the full market value of the frequencies and to have particular regard to the sums bid for licences in the auction in setting the revised level of the fees. We remain convinced that this approach is the best way of setting market-based fees for the spectrum in question.

Mobile Phones

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the likely date for commencement of the roll-out of 4G; and what steps his Department is taking to facilitate this process.

Edward Vaizey: The auctioning of 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum is a matter for Ofcom, the Independent regulator. Ofcom remains on schedule for the UK auction process to start by the end of 2012. This is compatible with the spectrum becoming available to allow successful bidders to start rolling out 4G services in these bands in 2013.
	Additionally, Ofcom recently undertook a consultation on liberalising the licensing requirements for the 1800 MHz band to allow deployment of 4G services in that band. Ofcom's proposals stemmed from a request from Everything Everywhere to authorise the use of LTE technology under their licences for 1800 MHz spectrum. This consultation closed on 8 May 2012 and the responses raised a number of detailed issues that Ofcom must now consider. Ofcom intends to publish a statement on the proposed variation as early as possible.

Olympic Games 2012

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans his Department has for the expected London 2012 Olympics budget underspend.

Hugh Robertson: Any underspend will be shared between the National Lottery, the Government and the Greater London Authority, as funders of the £9.3 billion Public Sector Funding Package for the Games. In addition, the National Lottery is entitled to receive £675 million from receipts from the sale of land in the Olympic Park after the Games.

Rural Areas: Broadband

Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to provide information for the public on the progress of the rural broadband roll-out programme.

Edward Vaizey: I am answering this question because broadband is within my area of responsibility.
	The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) provides regular updates on the progress being made on the rural broadband programme, which can be found on our website at:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/telecommunications_and_online/7763.aspx
	Local authorities are leading the rollout in their areas and I anticipate that councils will provide regular updates on the progress they are making.

HEALTH

Antidepressants

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the levels of prescribing of antidepressant drugs in other countries; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The information requested is not held centrally. The Department collects information relating to England only.
	The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publication, ‘Health at a Glance 2011’, provides the latest comparable data and trends on different aspects of the performance of health systems in OECD countries. That part of the publication concerning antidepressant consumption (section 4.11.2), contains tables with information on use of antidepressants.

Antidepressants

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other antidepressants are not included as part of his Department's review of policy on addiction to prescribed medication.

Anne Milton: The generic actions agreed by the expert roundtable which I convened to advise on the prevention and treatment of dependence on medicine are relevant whichever medicine is giving rise to dependence.
	The scope for people to experience withdrawal symptoms when they abruptly stop taking Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) or Selective Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors is well documented. There are warnings about this risk in the product information for prescribers and in the Patient Information Leaflets. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance recommends that all patients prescribed antidepressants should be informed about the risk of withdrawal reactions and the importance of gradual withdrawal over several weeks. There is no clinical consensus that the symptoms which some people experience when they stop taking SSRIs constitute dependence.

Central Nervous System Tumours

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons cases of brain and central nervous system tumours are not systematically and consistently registered using NICE classifications across England.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated June 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for what reasons cases of brain and central nervous system tumours are not systematically and consistently registered using NICE classifications across England.
	The NICE report on 'Improving Outcomes for People with Brain and Other CNS Tumours'(1) classified brain and CNS tumours into seven clinical groups, which are not directly comparable with the classification used for statistical purposes.
	In England, cancer registration is carried out by eight regional registries that collect information on cancers registered to residents of their areas. These cancer registrations are subsequently submitted to ONS as a standard dataset, validated and quality assured. ONS then uses this information to publish National Statistics on cancer incidence and survival for England, for all cancer types. ONS carries out this work on behalf of the Department of Health, to agreed quality standards, to enable the Department, the NHS and others to monitor changing levels and patterns of the disease.
	The cancer site codes and descriptions used by the cancer registries to submit information to ONS reflect the adoption by the NHS in 1995 of the International Classification of Diseases (Tenth Revision, ICD-10), which is published by the World Health Organization. Statistics based on ICD-10 are internationally comparable.
	Brain and Central Nervous System (CNS) tumours are systematically and consistently registered by all English cancer registries. All brain and CNS tumours are registrable conditions, and so ONS receives data on all malignant, benign and unknown/uncertain behaviour brain and CNS cancers diagnosed in the population of England.
	The latest published figures on incidence of cancer in England are available on the National Statistics website:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-registrations-in-england/2010/index.html
	The latest published figures on cancer survival in England are available on the National Statistics website.
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/cancer-unit/cancer-survival/index.html
	(1) National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence (2006). “Improving Outcomes for People with Brain and Other CNS Tumours”. Available from:
	http://www.nice.org.uk

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will ensure that the NHS Commissioning Board provides cancer networks with adequate funding beyond 2013 and that they are closely involved in the development of the new system.

Paul Burstow: We have made it clear that there is a role for clinical networks, such as cancer networks, in the new health system, as a place where clinicians from different sectors come together to improve the quality of care across integrated, pathways.
	The cancer networks are a clear example of how this way of working delivers better quality. That is why the Secretary of State for Health announced in May 2011 that cancer networks would continue to be funded in 2012-13 and that the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) would support strengthened cancer networks.
	The review of clinical networks, including cancer networks, has been considering the functions, structures and governance that will most effectively support commissioners to improve outcomes for patients. The review has received input from over 800 stakeholders, including representatives from cancer networks.
	The NHS CB authority will publish its recommendations for clinical networks in the new health system in summer.

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will consider developing an indicator based on the National Cancer Patient Experience in the NHS Outcomes Framework and Commissioning Outcomes Framework to incentivise improvements at local level.

Paul Burstow: We will shortly be publishing the results from the national Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2011 and we expect that they would continue to be used in supporting local action to bring about improvements.
	The current focus of patient experience measures in the NHS Outcomes Framework takes a generic approach recognising that people often have more than one condition. While we are committed to keeping the framework under review, we are keen to maintain this balance so that the framework represents the breadth of national health service activity.
	For the Commissioning Outcomes Framework, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a list of potential indicators as part of their public consultation on 1 February. This list included an appendix of further potential indicators to be considered for future development as they would not be ready for April 2013. The appendix included an indicator on patient experience of cancer services. NICE's independent advisory committee met in public on 21-22 May to consider the evidence base. NICE is expected to publish recommendations on 1 August. The NHS Commissioning Board will then make decisions on the shape of the framework for 2013-14.

Cancer

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will include one and five year survival rates of all types of cancer in the NHS Outcomes Framework and the Commissioning Outcomes Framework.

Paul Burstow: The indicators in the NHS Outcomes Framework were selected to provide a balanced focus, to reflect the breadth of national health service activity. We are currently considering whether it is possible to develop a composite indicator showing one-year survival rates for all cancers, to replace some or all of the individual survival rate indicators.
	The Commissioning Outcomes Framework will be developed by the NHS Commissioning Board, informed by advice from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE published a list of potential, measures for the Commissioning Outcomes Framework for public consultation in February. The consultation included indicators on five-year survival rates for specific cancers, and some potential indicators for one-year survival rates and patient experience of cancer services. NICE's independent advisory committee met in public to consider the evidence base on 21-22 May. NICE is expected to publish its recommendations on 1 August. The NHS Commissioning Board will then make decisions on the shape of the framework for 2013-14.

Cancer: Children

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department has allocated for research and development of genetic therapies to treat cancer in children in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15 and (e) 2015-16.

Paul Burstow: In August 2011, the Government announced £800 million investment over five years from April 2012 in a series of National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) biomedical research centres and units. From this investment, £0.7 million will fund research on gene therapy for cancer in children.
	Total expenditure on gene therapy for cancer in children in each year from 2012-13 to 2015-16 through research programmes, research centres and units, and research training awards will depend on the volume and quality of scientific activity. The usual practice of the NIHR is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics: research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including gene therapy for cancer in children. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.
	The Department funded no research on gene therapy for cancer in children in 2011-12 through research programmes, research centres and units, and research training awards.

Community Nurses

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve access to 24/7 community nursing.

Anne Milton: Local health care organisations decide how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities and to determine the work force required to meet people's needs locally, including the provision of 24 hours a day community nursing care.
	The Department is working with community nurses and professional organisations as part of a development programme to scope a renewed model for community nursing, focusing on district nursing services.

Congenital Abnormalities

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to monitor people affected by foetal anti-convulsion disorder as they make the transition into adulthood; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of people affected by foetal anti-convulsive syndrome owing to NHS prescriptions of (a) phenytoin, (b) carbamazepine and (c) sodium valproate; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: We have made no estimate of the number of people affected by foetal anti-convulsive syndrome, nor is the Department monitoring people affected by the condition as they make the transition into adulthood.
	We recognise the importance of effective transition between children's and adults' services. It is for local health service organisations to commission a comprehensive service for all people within their local communities, including adolescents and adults and those moving through transition. Clinical commissioning groups, working in conjunction with Health and Wellbeing Boards, will be required to take account of their population's needs and commission and provide services accordingly.
	There are initiatives being undertaken by Government that are seeking to improve health-related services for children and young people.
	Many of the outcomes within the NHS Outcomes Framework, which sets the national outcomes that the national health service should be aiming to achieve, seek to make improvements for children and young people specifically. The Public Health Outcomes Framework also helps set a clear direction for children's health.
	The Commissioning Board will also have a role in commissioning certain services, for example, highly specialised services for children and young people with a disability, where the numbers requiring such services in an area are too low for it to be viable for these services to be commissioned locally.
	The Department is developing an Outcomes Strategy, which aims to improve the quality of health care services and outcomes for children and young people. The strategy focuses on the themes of public health, acutely sick children, mental health and long-term medical conditions.

Diabetes

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to promote the prevention and early identification of diabetes.

Paul Burstow: The Government are committed to the prevention of Type 2 diabetes. All work on promoting an active lifestyle and tackling obesity will support this aim. It is important to identify people with diabetes early to ensure that they receive prompt treatment to manage their diabetes and to help delay or prevent long-term complications of the condition.

Diabetes

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's strategy is for dealing with diabetes.

Paul Burstow: The Department is currently producing three policy documents which will directly influence the commissioning and development of diabetes services: the Diabetes Action Plan, the Long Term Conditions (LTC) Outcomes Strategy (which will include a diabetes companion document), and the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy.
	The Diabetes Action Plan will set out the actions the national health service is taking to increase identification and improve prevention and treatment of diabetes, and will be published later this year.
	The Long Term Conditions Outcomes Strategy is aimed at improving outcomes for all people with LTCs. The strategy will look at all of the aspects that impact on the lives of people with LTCs, and outline how the key players (Government Departments, local authorities, charities and individuals) can act in future in order to reduce LTC incidence, and improve outcomes for those with LTCs. We aim to publish the strategy towards the end of 2012, and a companion document on diabetes will be published at the same time.
	The Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Strategy will outline how the health care system can improve outcomes for people with—or people at risk of—CVD. The strategy will consider the whole of the patient pathway from prevention through to long term care. As diabetes is a major risk factor for CVD, it will be considered as part of the strategy's development.

Drugs: Misuse

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of the illegal use of controlled substances in (a) England, (b) the East Midlands, (c) Nottinghamshire and (d) Ashfield constituency.

Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Tom Blenkinsop) on 24 May 2012, Official Report, column 859W.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department switched its (a) gas or (b) electricity supplier in any of the last 10 years.

Simon Burns: The Department has switched its gas and electricity supplier on a number of occasions over the last 10 years. The latest change of supplier has taken place from 1 April 2012.
	This latest change of supplier was organised through a framework with the Government Procurement Service (GPS). All GPS frameworks are awarded on the basis of a fully competitive process governed by Official Journal of the European Union rules. Under Cabinet Office guidance, GPS is also the recognised provider for all central Government energy supplies. The latest changes of suppliers have been as follows:
	Gas from Total Gas and Power to Corona;
	Electricity Non Half Hourly for Scottish and Southern Energy to British Gas; and
	Half Hourly from Scottish and Southern Energy to EDF Energy.

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many procurement card holders in his Department were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Simon Burns: The breakdown by staff type of Government procurement card holders is given in the following table. It should be noted that our cardholder records do not distinguish between full-time and part-time civil servants. For the purposes of this response the term ‘non-permanent-employees’ has been defined as ‘on-payroll staff on fixed term contracts’.
	Off-payroll staff include those seconded into the Department from other organisations to fulfil a civil service role, such as from national health service bodies and other Government Departments.
	
		
			  On payroll permanent On payroll fixed term Off payroll Total cardholders 
			 2009-10 424 1 15 440 
			 2010-11 338 2 20 360 
			 2011-12 289 4 21 314

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on which dates his Department has published Government procurement card spending over £500 since May 2010.

Simon Burns: Government procurement card (GPC) data for the Department have been published on the Department's web site since October 2011. The following table gives the publication dates:
	
		
			 GPC data period Publication date 
			 April 2011 to August 2011 27 October 2011 
			 September 2011 30 December 2011 
			 October 2011 30 December 2011 
			 November 2011 31 January 2012 
		
	
	
		
			 December 2011 29 February 2012 
			 January 2012 30 March 2012 
			 February 2012 30 April 2012

Health

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what changes he plans to make to the formula for the allocation of the public health funding to local authorities;
	(2)  what account will be taken of population (a) age and (b) deprivation in determining public health allocations to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: On 14 June, the public health finance update document, ‘Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Update on Public Health Funding’, was published. A copy has already been placed in the Library and the document can be accessed on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/06/ph-funding-la
	This document sets out the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation's (ACRA) interim recommendations on the public health allocations formula, gives an update on the health premium and sets out proposed conditions for the ring-fenced public health grant including proposals for local authority reporting on public health spend.
	ACRA's interim formula is based principally on a measure of population health that will be applied to small areas. This means that funding is targeted towards those areas with the poorest health outcomes and greatest deprivation. Building up from small areas means the formula can take account of pockets of deprivation in local authorities that otherwise have good health outcomes.
	These are interim recommendations. As part of this publication, ACRA identified areas needing further work before making its final recommendations for the formula for making 2013-14 allocations. This includes consideration of an adjustment for the age profile of the population.
	The Department is now undertaking a focussed engagement process with a full range of stakeholders including public health and local government representatives and the wider national health service community. This feedback will help the work to finalise ACRA's recommendations to support the 2013-14 allocations to local authorities.

Health

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training and guidance his Department plans to provide prior to implementing new public health duties for local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department is continuing to work with key stakeholders including the Local Government Association to produce a number of guidance documents prior to transferring public health duties to local authorities.
	Documents already published include information on the range of functions transferring, including emergency preparedness and health protection issues, and are available on the Department and LGA websites.
	We are also discussing with employers and employee representatives in the national health service and local authorities to agree and produce guidance on the smooth transfer of staff, their rights on transfer and the responsibilities of councils as the new employers, bearing in mind varying local circumstances.
	Later this year we will be publishing statutory guidance on the role of the Director of Public Health and a Public Health Workforce Strategy, which will consider the training requirements and career development of staff in the new public health system.

Health

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what split of public health responsibilities he proposes between Public Health England and local authorities.

Anne Milton: Sections 11 and 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 confer separate, but related, public health duties on the Secretary of State and on upper tier and unitary local authorities in England. From April 2013 the Secretary of State will have a duty to take the steps he considers appropriate to protect the health of the people of England. As well as this general duty the Act sets out some specific functions of the Secretary of State, including existing statutory functions of the Health Protection Agency (which the Act abolishes). Public Health England will be an executive agency of the Department, established to undertake the Secretary of State's duties.
	The duty on local authorities is to take the steps they consider appropriate to improve the health of the people in their area. The Act gives the Secretary of State the power to prescribe in regulations particular steps that local authorities must take. On 20 December 2011 the Department published a series of fact sheets describing roles and responsibilities in the reformed public health system. The fact sheet “Public health in local government: local government's new public health functions” sets out those services that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health intends to prescribe in regulations, and “Public health in local, government: commissioning responsibilities” lists other public health services that local authorities will be responsible for commissioning from 2013. Copies of these fact sheets have been placed in the Library.

Health Services: Channel Islands

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when officials from his Department last met officials from the (a) Health and Wellbeing Department in Jersey and (b) Health and Social Services Department in Guernsey; and what issues were discussed at those meetings.

Anne Milton: Officials from the Department and the Governments of Jersey and Guernsey were among the participants at the meeting of the British Irish Council's Sectoral Group on the Misuse of Drugs which met on 29 May. The main discussion topic was the problem of addiction to medicine and approaches to tackling it.

Health Visitors: Recruitment

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many additional Sure Start health visitors have been recruited since May 2010;
	(2)  when he expects his target to recruit 4,200 additional Sure Start health visitors will be met.

Anne Milton: The number of health visitors recorded on the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) in March 2012 was 8,199 full-time equivalents. This represents an increase of 1.3% (107 full-time equivalents) since May 2010.
	Additionally, strategic health authorities report there were over 200 full-time equivalent health visitors not recorded on ESR at this time—for example, those working in organisations such as local authorities and social enterprises.
	“The Health Visitor Implementation Plan 2011 to 15—A Call to Action”, (published in February 2011), set out plans, accountabilities and partnership working related to the growth of the health visitor workforce. A copy has already been placed in the Library. The Department has put in place a four year transformational programme of recruitment and retention, professional development and improved commissioning linked to public health improvement. This programme of activity is on track to deliver an increase in the workforce of 4,200 full-time equivalent health visitors by April 2015.

Homeopathy

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has made any estimate of the (a) funding and (b) bed capacity that would need to be made available in the event that a full range of homeopathic remedies were to be provided by the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department has made no such assessment.
	The Department does not maintain a position on any particular complementary or alternative therapy including homeopathy. It is the responsibility of local national health service organisations to make decisions on the commissioning and funding of such treatments, taking account of issues to do with safety, clinical and cost-effectiveness and the availability of suitably qualified/regulated practitioners.

Malnutrition

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration he has given to the use of incentives to improve the standard of nutritional care in (a) hospitals, (b) care homes and (c) general practice; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: For hospitals on national health service national standard contracts, NHS commissioners can already choose the Commissioning for Quality and Innovation framework to reward providers for ambitious improvements in nutritional care. This is a locally agreed incentive scheme, which can also be offered to providers on joint NHS and local authority contracts, which may include patients receiving continuing NHS care in care homes.

Malnutrition

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Care Quality Commission's second phase of the Dignity and Nutrition Inspection Programme will assess the quality of nutritional care provided by home care or domiciliary care services; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided the following information.
	The second phase of Dignity and Nutrition Inspections are split into two programmes, one involving 500 inspections of care homes, the other 50 inspections of national health service trusts.
	As part of its assessment the CQC inspectors will speak to users of the services and their relatives, observe the interaction between patients/people and staff as well as reviewing documentation including care plans and speaking to staff. The inspectors will use direct observation of mealtimes, including evening meals and weekends to assess whether the nutritional and hydration needs of individuals are being met. They will look at service users' records to see how nutrition and hydration are monitored. Inspectors will also make use of a short observational framework designed to help understand the quality of the experiences of people including during mealtimes for those who are unable to provide feedback due to their cognitive or communication impairments.
	The assessment of the quality of nutritional care by domiciliary care services is not a feature of the themed inspection programmes CQC is running at present.
	The CQC undertakes regular planned and responsive inspections of domiciliary care agencies, if inspectors identify concerns during these inspections that relate to nutritional care they have the option to review this outcome area (Outcome 5—Meeting nutritional needs).

Mental Illness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of (a) adults and (b) children were diagnosed with mental illness in each year for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: This information is not collected centrally as the data sources do not include primary care where a large proportion of mental health care takes place. In-patient (HES) data only cover secondary care and the Mental Health Minimum Dataset (MHMDS) is based on secondary care and does not include children. However, the Health and Social Care Information Centre MHMDS 2003-04 to 2010-11 annual returns provides the following:
	
		
			 Number of people using adult and elderly NHS funded(1) secondary mental health services, 2003-04 to 2010-11 
			  NHS providers only 
			  2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Total number of people 1,079,016 1,132,434 1,149,472 1,151,260 1,190,542 1,222,365 1,270,731 1,285,594 
			          
			 Admitted 113,772 114,435 111,088 106,561 105,719 102,571 107,765 104,645 
			 Non-admitted 814,252 916,534 930,374 936,629 982,704 1,026,366 1,078,091 1,094,138 
			 No care 150,992 101,465 108,010 108,070 102,119 93,428 84,875 86,811 
			 (1) Includes services provided by independent sector providers. 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 
			  Independent sector providers All providers 
			 Total number of people 2,136 1,287,730 
			    
			 Admitted 2,074 106,719 
			 Non-admitted 0 1,094,138 
			 No care 62 86,873 
			 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre MHMDS 2003/04 to 2010-11 annual returns. 
		
	
	While no estimate has been made on the number of children diagnosed with mental illness, information on the prevalence of mental disorders in children and young people has been published by other organisations. The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in Great Britain, 2004 (ONS) reported that 9.6% of 5 to 16-year-olds had a clinically recognisable mental disorder.

NHS Walk-in Centres: Closures

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS walk-in centres have closed since June 2010.

Simon Burns: The information requested is not held centrally.

Out of Area Treatment: North East

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients registered at an address in the North East received treatment at a hospital in another region of England in each month since May 2010.

Simon Burns: Data showing the count of finished admission episodes. where the strategic health authority (SHA) of residence is the North East, and the SHA of the main provider is elsewhere in England for the period May 2010 to February 2012 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  North West Yorkshire and the Humber East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East Coast South Central South West Total 
			 May 2010 130 119 13 22 27 78 6 21 19 435 
			 June 2010 120 120 25 22 22 66 11 19 34 439 
		
	
	
		
			 July 2010 120 151 19 28 33 84 15 17 26 493 
			 August 2010 128 152 39 31 40 84 16 25 52 567 
			 September 2010 129 129 20 16 25 82 17 11 21 450 
			 October 2010 96 113 26 25 23 70 19 10 26 408 
			 November 2010 102 102 18 16 11 76 * * 16 356 
			 December 2010 95 90 13 17 22 48 10 11 19 325 
			 January 2011 96 122 20 27 20 68 15 7 18 393 
			 February 2011 102 98 12 15 14 48 * * 25 330 
			 March 2011 89 101 21 17 21 51 18 15 23 356 
			 April 2011 117 124 21 22 29 62 * * 20 410 
			 May 2011 115 124 22 21 28 54 15 12 23 414 
			 June 2011 131 118 35 27 25 68 13 17 31 465 
			 July 2011 128 118 34 27 33 77 19 14 25 475 
			 August 2011 136 152 36 26 23 90 23 23 36 545 
			 September 2011 128 110 15 22 30 81 21 17 23 447 
			 October 2011 114 124 21 19 22 68 10 11 12 401 
			 November 2011 130 115 17 18 19 68 6 14 19 406 
			 December 2011 101 100 22 30 31 71 18 25 24 422 
			 January 2012 108 98 29 26 17 65 10 17 7 377 
			 February 2012 97 101 12 16 28 45 6 21 16 342 
			 Notes: 1. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. The strategic health authority (SHA) or primary care trust (PCT) of residence is that which contains the patient's normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated, as they may have travelled to another SHA or PCT for treatment. 3. The SHA of main provider is the area where patients were treated, not necessarily where they live or where they were injured. 4. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer included in admitted patient HES data. 5. Data from April 2011 to February 2012 is provisional. Where data is provisional it may be incomplete or contain errors for which no adjustments have yet been made. Counts produced from provisional data are likely to be lower than those generated for the same period in the final dataset. This shortfall will be most pronounced in the final month of the latest period, i.e, November from the (month 9) April to November extract. It is also probable that clinical data are not complete, which may in particular affect the last two months of any given period. There may also be errors due to coding inconsistencies that have not yet been investigated and corrected. 6. To protect patient confidentiality, figures between one and five have been replaced with "*" (an asterisk). Where it was still possible to identify numbers from the total an additional number (the next smallest) has been replaced. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Primary Care Trusts

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements he plans to put in place for the future management of former primary care trusts' property portfolios; and what his plans are for the management of that estate in the medium term.

Simon Burns: All existing primary care trust (PCT) property will transfer on 31 March 2013 to either national health service providers or NHS Property Services Ltd. The Department announced in August 2011 that NHS providers would be given the opportunity to acquire ‘service critical clinical infrastructure’. The solution for the remaining estate, a limited company wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Health, ‘NHS Property Services Ltd’ (NHS PS), was announced in January 2012.
	NHS PS will hold property for use by community and primary care services, cut the costs of administering the estate by consolidating the management of over 150 estates and dispose of property identified by the local NHS as surplus to requirements, in order to return vital funds to frontline NHS services.
	While it is a national company, NHS PS will also have a regional management structure, with four regions co-terminus with those of the NHS Commissioning Board Authority. At a local level, it is intended to continue with the existing arrangements that PCT clusters currently have in place for the operational management of their estates and facilities, in the immediate to medium term.

Royal College of General Practitioners

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a drug policy official from his Department attended the Royal College of General Practitioners' 17th National Conference.

Anne Milton: On 11 May 2012, two officials from the Department gave presentations on the misuse of prescribed medications and on payment by results for drug and alcohol recovery at the conference on managing drug and alcohol problems in primary care which was organised by the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Tranquillisers: Misuse

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will make an assessment of the survey of services provided for involuntary tranquilliser addiction by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction.

Anne Milton: We welcome the initiative of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction in working with local areas to collect information on the provision of services for people who are addicted to benzodiazepines and z drugs. The responses provided from primary care trusts illustrate both the way that in some areas general practitioners are working with other agencies to give people the vital support that they need, and highlights the need for further improvement.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many residents of (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) the London Borough of Bexley (i) started and (ii) completed a course at an adult education college in each of the last five years.

John Hayes: Table 1 shows Government-funded further education and skills learner participation and achievements in general further education colleges in Bexleyheath and Crayford parliamentary constituency and the London borough of Bexley local authority, by age, for academic years 2006/07 to 2010/11, the latest full years for which final data are available.
	
		
			 Table 1: General further education colleges learner participation and achievement by geography and age, 2006/07 to 2010/11 
			  Age 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 
			 Participation       
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency Under 19 930 1,040 1,010 1,080 1,080 
			  19+ 1,370 1,710 1,730 1,460 1,230 
			  Total 2,300 2,750 2,740 2,530 2,310 
			        
			 Bexley Local Authority Under 19 2,460 2,630 2,590 2,680 2,610 
			  19+ 3,750 4,250 4,500 3,880 3,310 
			  Total 6,210 6,880 7,090 6,560 5,920 
			        
			 England Under 19 630,630 654,060 662,530 682,240 694,460 
			  19+ 1,573,700 1,551,600 1,768,040 1,635,590 1,338,480 
			  Total 2,204,300 2,205,700 2,430,600 2,317,800 2,032,900 
			        
			 Achievement       
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency Under 19 670 740 770 830 880 
			  19+ 910 1,120 1,290 1,010 900 
			  Total 1,570 1,860 2,060 1,840 1,780 
			        
			 Bexley Local Authority Under 19 1,780 1,860 1,930 2,060 2,110 
			  19+ 2,440 2,720 3,280 2,710 2,420 
			  Total 4,220 4,580 5,220 4,770 4,530 
			        
			 England Under 19 457,610 489,320 521,120 546,780 558,360 
			  19+ 1,089,100 1,060,260 1,221,600 1,187,170 975,860 
			  Total 1,541,700 1,549,600 1,742,700 1,734,000 1,534,200 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 except for the England totals which are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Geography is based upon the home postcode of the learner. Geographic information is based on boundaries of regions as of May 2010. The England totals include some postcodes which are not known. 3. These data include both young people (under 19) and adults (aged 19+) participating in Apprenticeships, Workplace Learning, Community Learning and Education and Training provision taken at General Further Education Colleges (Including Tertiary) only. 4. Age is based on age at the start of the academic year. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on further education and skills participation and achievement by geography is published in a supplementary table of a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 29 March 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/

Business: Complaints

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has had discussions with representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) regarding granting SME representative bodies super complaint status in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill; and which bodies were consulted.

Norman Lamb: holding answer 21 June 2012
	The Government consulted on proposals to grant SME representative bodies super-complainant status in a public consultation on competition reform, ‘A Competition Regime for Growth: A Consultation on Options for Reform'. During the consultation period officials at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills held discussions on the proposals contained in that document with a number of stakeholders including the Forum of Private Business, British Chambers of Commerce and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Cancer: Research

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what funding his Department has allocated for research and development of genetic therapies to treat cancer in children in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15 and (e) 2015-16.

David Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government supports medical and clinical research, including cancer research.
	The MRC does not normally allocate funding for specific disease areas and future research funding is dependent on the quality and strategic relevance of proposals submitted by the research community and is determined through peer review. Information on future funding that may be awarded for this area is not available. However, the MRC would welcome proposals which may support research leading to the development of genetic therapies to treat cancer in children. This may include fundamental research through to pre-clinical development, and early clinical testing of novel therapeutics, devices and diagnostics.
	In 2010 the MRC's overall expenditure on cancer was £107.9 million(1). This includes a broad portfolio of site-specific and general underpinning cancer research some of which will be relevant to cancer in children. The MRC does not hold a breakdown of expenditure on research directly relating to research and development of genetic therapies to treat cancer in children. It would not be possible to undertake the necessary analysis in the time available.
	(1) Source—National Cancer Research Institute CaRD

Competition and Markets Authority

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions on the resource requirements of the merged Competition and Mergers Authority his Department had with (a) the Office of Fair Trading and (b) the Competition Commission.

Norman Lamb: holding answer 25 June 2012
	The Government are working closely with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition Commission (CC) in planning for the transition to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and has established a CMA Transition Board whose key purpose is to oversee the creation of the CMA and plan for the transition from CC and OFT. The board member organisations are the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, HM Treasury, OFT and CC. When appointed the CMA Chair-designate will chair the CMA Transition Board.

Conditions of Employment

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 292W, on conditions of employment, how many meetings Adrian Beecroft had with policy officials across Government; and how many factual questions were responded to by such officials.

Norman Lamb: Adrian Beecroft had 22 meetings with policy officials across Government, half of which included other Government Departments. These meetings were to provide information about employment related law to assist him in making his personal contributions to the red tape challenge, and as such it is impossible to quantify the number of factual questions to which officials responded.

Conditions of Employment

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2012, Official Report, column 510W, on conditions of employment, if he will publish the letter sent by the former Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs to Adrian Beecroft on 29 July 2011 to commission the report.

Norman Lamb: We have placed a copy of the letter in the Libraries of both Houses.

Consultants

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the cost was to his Department of the use of external consultants in each of the last two years.

Norman Lamb: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 June 2012, Official Report, column 292W.

Environmental Protection

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what programmes his Department has put in place to encourage development of the UK's green economy.

Mark Prisk: Last year the Government published “Enabling the Transition to a Green Economy” which will serve as a tool to inform continuing dialogue between government, business and communities. It sets out the range of policies we are using to support the transition to a green economy, the opportunities that are created and the implications for the way in which businesses operate.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has a number of programmes that are relevant to the development of the UK's green economy. Among them is the £125 million Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain fund, which aims to increase growth potential in manufacturing by improving the competitiveness of supply chains, and is open to businesses in the renewable energy and other low carbon sectors. There is also support available to the supply chain through the Regional Growth Fund, which several companies involved in renewable energy have benefited from. The Department is also supporting innovation through the Technology Strategy Board's catapult centres, one of which is the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre that is able to provide engineering expertise for new technology development. The Manufacturing Advisory Service includes within its remit low carbon and supply chain diversification themes.
	The Government recognise that development of appropriate skills is an important part of the green economy. A report “Skills for a Green Economy” was published in October 2011, and maps out possible skills needs and gaps across different green sectors. The Government have put learners and employers in the driving seat, giving them the support, funding and information to make the right choices and to help employers shape the skills system. Taken together, we are creating a strong and flexible platform to meet the skills needs for the green economy transition.
	The UK Green Investment Bank (UK GIB) is being developed as a key component of the Government's transition to a green and growing economy. The Bank's mission is
	‘to provide financial solutions to accelerate private sector investment in the UK's transition to a green economy’.
	Funded with £3 billion, it will tackle finance gaps which still remain despite a range of strong policies to incentivise green investments. It will work towards a ‘double bottom line' of both achieving environmental policies and making positive financial returns.

New Businesses: Government Assistance

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans his Department has to assist start-up businesses.

Mark Prisk: We want to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business, and for the next decade to be the most entrepreneurial and dynamic in Britain's history. That is why, in January, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister launched “Business in You”, a major year-long campaign, to inspire people to realise their business ambitions and to highlight the range of support available for start-ups and growing businesses.
	We recognise that these are challenging times for new businesses. In addition to ensuring that we have the right environment to help businesses grow, for example through reducing red tape and enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) more easily to access public procurement opportunities, we have introduced a range of measures to encourage people to set up their own business.
	Ensuring individuals can access the support and advice they need to start and grow their business
	We have transformed the way that we enable people to access the information, guidance and advice they need to start and grow a business. We have put in place a range of services including;
	An improved:
	www.businesslink.gov.uk
	website including My New Business, a comprehensive start-up service.
	A Business Link helpline which will support those who are unable to access the internet.
	A mentoring portal
	www.mentorsme.co.uk
	providing an easy route to find experienced business mentors.
	Ensuring businesses can access the finance they need
	Ensuring the flow of credit to viable SMEs is essential for supporting growth and is a core priority for this Government. The Government have:
	Introduced a new National Loan Guarantee scheme: up to £20 billion of guarantees for bank funding will be available over two years allowing banks to offer lower cost lending to SMEs.
	Increased the funds available to invest through the Business Finance Partnership (BFP) to £1.2 billion. Government have invited the first round of proposals to help businesses access non-bank finance through the BFP, and will allocate £100 million of the BFP to invest through non-traditional lending channels.
	Announced the continuation of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme until 2014/15, providing, subject to demand, over £2 billion in total over the next four years.
	Announced continuation of the Government's Enterprise Capital Funds programme, increasing our commitment by £200 million over the next four years, providing for more than £300 million of venture capital investment to address the equity gap for early stage innovative SMEs.
	Launched a new Startup Loan scheme to provide advice and start-up finance for 18-24 year olds looking to start their own business.
	Encouraged Business Angel investment through a new £50 million Business Angel Co- Investment Fund.
	We know that positive encouragement is also necessary to show that starting a business is a great idea. You may be aware that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, has appointed my Noble Friend Lord Young of Graffham to advise on small business and enterprise issues. A key objective of my Noble Friend Lord Young's work is to demonstrate that this is a great time to start a business, with record numbers of people becoming their own boss, supported by a wide range of help and encouragement to entrepreneurs from all ages and backgrounds. On 28 May, my Noble Friend Lord Young published his independent report on small business and enterprise, entitled “Make Business Your Business”. The report includes a guide to starting and developing a business which showcases much of the support on offer. The report can be accessed at:
	http://www.startupbritain.org/resource/binary/userfiles/Make_Business_Your_Business_2.pdf
	We will continue to work with the SME community to explore barriers to business start-up and to develop policies to help address these barriers.

Office of Fair Trading: Competition Commission

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what savings his Department has estimated will arise from the proposed merger of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission over and above those expected from the 2010 Spending Review.

Norman Lamb: holding answer 21 June 2012
	The Government have always made clear that the main purpose of creating the new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and implementing reforms is to strengthen the competition regime to support growth. Savings will mainly be from streamlining, and eliminating overlaps between the phase 1 and phase 2 of investigations. The impact assessment identified the potential costs and savings and quantified some of these. In preparing for the transition to the new CMA the Government will continue to refine these estimates as the structure and nature of the transition becomes clearer.

Office of Fair Trading: Competition Commission

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the potential number of investigations that would be delayed during the merger of the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading.

Norman Lamb: holding answer 21 June 2012
	Ministers consider the work of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Competition Commission to be vital to the economy. The Government are committed to ensuring a smooth transition process and will work closely with OFT and Competition Commission to minimise disruption to the organisations while they continue to carry out their important roles and services.

Overseas Trade

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the recommendations by the British Chambers of Commerce in its report entitled “Exporting is Good for Britain but Red Tape Stifles Growth”, if he will take further steps to open up new markets to UK exporters through free trade arrangements.

Mark Prisk: The British Government support the call made by the British Chambers of Commerce in its paper.
	The Government are strongly committed to pursuing trade liberalisation, which benefits the UK not only in terms of new markets for UK exporters, but also through greater access to innovation, productive inputs and consumer goods. For this reason, the Government have, for example, led calls in the EU for the opening of negotiations for an EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement; and for negotiations with Singapore and Canada to be concluded this year. The British Government have also been the strongest advocate in the EU for launching negotiations with the US to increase further trade and investment flows across the Atlantic.

Procurement

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of contracts issued by his Department were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises in 2011-12; and what proportion this represented of the monetary value of contracts awarded by his Department in 2011-12.

Mark Prisk: For core-BIS and those of its Agencies and non departmental public bodies (NDPBs) for which records are centrally held contracts to a value of 34% (£424,704,295) of a total procurement spend of £1,263,329,762 were awarded to small and medium enterprises in financial year 2011-12.
	Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Research: Disclosure of Information

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his policy is on allowing public access to publicly-funded academic research; and what plans he has for such access.

David Willetts: As stated in the Innovation and Research Strategy for Growth published in December 2011, the Government are committed to ensuring that publicly funded research should be accessible free of charge. The Government's approach was further explained in my speech to the Publishers' Association of 2 May 2012, see
	www.bis.gov.uk/news/speeches/david-willetts-public-access-to-research
	As stated in paragraph 6.8 of the strategy, see
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/innovation/docs/i/11-1387-innovation-and-research-strategy-for-growth.pdf
	“Government will work with partners, including the publishing industry, to achieve free access to publicly-funded research as soon as possible and will set an example itself.
	We have helped establish an independent working group chaired by Janet Finch to consider how to improve access to research publications, including publicly-funded research.
	The Royal Society is considering how to improve the sharing and disclosing of research data, both within the research community and beyond.
	Alan Langlands is chairing a task force to advise on improving the accessibility of data within Government and its agencies, which will advise on data linkage, conditions of access and data quality. This will report during 2012.”
	The Government will consider further steps in light of the findings and recommendations from these groups. Both the Finch Group and Royal Society studies have now reported, see
	www.researchinfonet.org/publish/finch
	and
	www.royalsociety.org/policy/projects/science-public-enterprise
	The Government are now considering their findings and recommendations.
	The Government will be issuing a response to the Finch Group in consultation with relevant research funding bodies.

Trade Competitiveness

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the contribution to the economy of (a) competition and (b) the competition authorities.

Norman Lamb: holding answer 25 June 2012
	Competitive markets ensure that scarce economic resources are put to their most efficient use. Markets that work well provide strong incentives for firms to innovate, improve production methods and lower prices. This in turn results in consumer benefits through lower prices, greater choice, higher quality and improved service offering.
	(a) The impact of well-functioning, competitive markets on the economy occurs through several channels. Firstly, effective competition acts as a disciplining mechanism for firms, incentivising firms to become more efficient. Secondly, competition results in the most innovative and productive firms thriving and gaining market share at the expense of those that are not so. Competition also has effects on the broader macro-economic indicators, resulting in lower inflation and higher foreign direct investment. Competitive markets also result in confident and well-informed consumers, who make decisions which best satisfy their requirements.
	Notwithstanding these important effects, estimating the impact of competition on the economy is a difficult task given the intangible nature of the impacts.
	(b) The OFT assesses the impact of its work on the economy on an annual basis, as part of its performance target of delivering benefits to consumers at least five times the cost of its operations to the taxpayer. The latest available report(1) found that the OFT delivered annual average consumer benefits of £326 million, resulting in a benefit to cost ratio of around 7:1, above the target agreed with the Treasury. The OFT estimated that the competition regime in the UK benefited consumers by almost £689 million in 2010-11.
	(1) For the financial year ending March 2011. OFT (2011), 'Positive Impact 10/11: Consumer Benefits from the OFT's work'.

UK Membership of EU

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of jobs created in the UK as a direct result of the EU membership in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: There is no available estimate of the impact on the number of jobs created in the UK as a direct result of EU membership. These estimates would be difficult and, to some extent speculative, as they would require an assessment of the impact of EU membership on, among other things, trade in goods and services, foreign investments of European Union and non-European Union origins, financial and banking relations, inward and outward flows of migrants, etc.
	Trade and investment with Europe is, nonetheless, very important to UK employment. BIS estimated that in 2006 3.5 million jobs were linked directly and indirectly to the UK's trade with the EU, representing around 12% of UK's work force. This is the most recent estimate available and no similar comparisons have been made over time.

TREASURY

Community Banks

Guy Opperman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to make it easier to set up local community banks.

Mark Hoban: The Government believe that it is important for consumers to be able to access an appropriate range of financial products and services.
	Therefore it is essential that the regulatory regime facilitates new entrants to the banking market wherever possible. The Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England are conducting reviews of the prudential and conduct requirements for new entrants to the banking sector to ensure that the requirements are proportionate and do not pose excessive barriers to entry or expansion.

Tax Avoidance/Evasion

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce tax avoidance and tax evasion.

David Gauke: This Government are determined to tackle tax avoidance and evasion, to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of tax. Our reinvestment of over £900 million into HMRC demonstrates this and will bring in additional revenue of £7 billion a year by 2014-15.
	We have announced immediate action to close down seven avoidance schemes in the past year and recently published our consultation on introducing a General Anti-Abuse Rule in 2013.

Economic Growth

Chris Williamson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the level of economic growth in 2012.

Chloe Smith: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts. In its March Economic and fiscal outlook, the OBR forecast economic growth of 0.8% in 2012.

Economic Growth

Damian Hinds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps he has taken to encourage economic growth.

Chloe Smith: The Government's top priority is to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries, through:
	sustained deficit reduction;
	monetary activism; and
	supply side reforms.

Eurozone Financial Crisis

David Rutley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government are taking to limit the effect on the UK of the financial crisis in the eurozone.

Mark Hoban: This Government have taken decisive action to cut the deficit and stimulate growth, helping insulate the UK from the worst of the euro crisis. It is because of that action that we have secured near record low bond yields to the benefit of businesses and families across the UK. We have also ensured that all UK banks have built their capital buffers in recent years, with the largest UK banks reporting a core tier 1 ratio of 10% or above. Furthermore we have also recently announced two new schemes worth tens of billions of pounds to boost lending during this period of uncertainty.

Air Passenger Duty

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to section 29 of the Coalition Agreement, when he plans to bring forward plans to switch the Air Passenger Duty to a per-plane basis rather than per-passenger; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: As set out at Budget 2011, the Government will not introduce a per-plane duty at the present time, given concerns over the legality and feasibility of this approach. The Government are continuing to work with our international partners to build support for this approach. In the meantime, Budget 2012 set out air passenger duty rates for 2012-13 and 2013-14.

Child Trust Fund

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to consider the future of existing Child Trust Fund accounts; and whether such accounts will be converted into Junior Individual Savings Accounts.

Mark Hoban: With reference to the answer to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson) on 18 June 2012, the Government have no immediate plans to change the existing regulatory structure for tax advantaged savings accounts for children. We therefore have no plans at present to convert Child Trust Funds into Junior ISAs.
	There are currently around 5.7 million Child Trust Fund accounts, with a total value of approximately £4.4 billion. The market continues to grow steadily and, so long as CTF account holders continue to exercise their right to switch accounts where appropriate, there will continue to be an impetus for providers to compete. We do not believe that the majority of the 5.7 million children with a Child Trust Fund would benefit from a change in rules at the present time.
	As with all features of the tax system, the Government will keep under review whether or not action is necessary in the future.

European Stability Mechanism

William Cash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what European treaty basis the European Council would be authorised to grant a banking licence to the European Stability Mechanism.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 25 June 2012
	The European Council does not grant banking licences. This is the role of the relevant national competent authorities. In the United Kingdom, the national competent authority is the FSA.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on other forms of HM Revenue and Customs revenue of the planned three pence fuel duty rise;
	(2)  whether his Department has made an estimate of future revenue from fuel duty if the planned fuel duty rise of three pence is not implemented;
	(3)  what estimate his Department has made of revenue from fuel duty following the planned fuel duty rise of three pence.

Chloe Smith: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), routinely considers the fiscal implications of tax policy options as part of the annual Budget process. Fuel price effects on inflation, the economy and employment, and therefore effects on other forms of HM Revenue and Customs revenues, are assessed by the Office of Budget Responsibility as part of its economic and fiscal forecasts. The OBR reported in September 2010 that changing fuel duty by 1 pence per litre has a total effect on the public finances of around £500 million.
	Based on the “direct effects of illustrative tax changes” table published on HM Revenue and Customs’ website, the effect on fuel duty receipts of a 3.02 ppl change in fuel duty is approximately £1.35 billion per year.
	The estimate of future revenues including the effect of the planned rise in fuel duty rise of 3.02 ppl has been published as part of the Office of Budget Responsibility's “Economic and Fiscal Outlook” in March 2012, in table 4.7:
	
		
			 Fuel duty receipts 
			  £ billion 
			 2012-13 27.3 
			 2013-14 28.1 
			 2014-15 28.9 
			 2015-16 30.1 
			 2016-17 31.3

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many procurement card holders in his Department were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12.

Chloe Smith: Only permanent members of staff may be issued with Government procurement cards (GPCs). Between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2012, 16 part-time permanent members of staff were issued with GPCs. No cardholders have been paid ‘off payroll’.

Individual Savings Accounts: Children

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department holds on the number of Junior Individual Savings accounts opened in each parliamentary constituency since October 2010.

Mark Hoban: Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs will publish Junior ISA statistics in July 2012. These will set out total subscriptions to Junior ISAs in respect of the first five months of the scheme, falling in the 2011-12 tax year. Account level information sufficient to determine the regional take-up of Junior ISAs is not expected to be available before 2013.

Tax Avoidance

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what investigations have been undertaken by (a) his Department and (b) HM Revenue and Customs into the accounting activities to support tax avoidance being carried out by (i) Peak Performance Accountants and (ii) Blue Cube financial planning consultants; and what his policy is on investigating allegations of tax avoidance schemes exposed by media investigations.

David Gauke: HMRC investigates and challenges all forms of tax avoidance, irrespective of how it was notified to HMRC. Allegations of tax avoidance are taken seriously, and any information provided is considered in determining the appropriate response.

Taxation: Multinational Companies

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take in the next 12 months to ensure that the proposed relaxation of Controlled Foreign Companies rules does not encourage companies to increase their use of overseas tax havens; if he will assess the likely effect of these proposed changes on developing countries; if he will discuss this matter with the International Monetary Fund; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The Government are introducing a modernised Controlled Foreign Company regime that strikes the right balance between making the corporate tax system more competitive and providing adequate protection of the UK tax base. The regime will apply to companies which artificially divert UK profits to low tax jurisdictions to avoid UK tax.
	The Government are not undertaking an assessment of the effect on developing countries of the proposed changes to the CFC rules as these rules are designed to protect the UK tax base.
	Such an assessment would need to focus primarily on the nature of tax regimes in developing countries and the interactions of multinational companies with those tax systems, making it an assessment not of our tax rules, but of the tax rules of those other countries. The Government does not think that such an assessment would be feasible.
	The Government work with the International Monetary Fund and other international organisations such as the World Bank and OECD to provide technical assistance and capacity building support to developing countries across a range of issues including tax avoidance and compliance.
	The changes to the Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) rules will be evaluated and assessed alongside other measures included in the Government's package of corporate tax reforms.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Accidents

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatal air accidents there were in the UK in the last 10 years; and what comparative assessment she has made of the number of such accidents in the UK and in other EU member states.

Theresa Villiers: The number of fatal air accidents in the UK over the last 10 years are:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2012 (1)6 
			 2011 13 
			 2010 8 
			 2009 22 
			 2008 12 
			 2007 24 
			 2006 18 
			 2005 22 
			 2004 22 
		
	
	
		
			 2003 22 
			 2002 17 
			 (1 )Up to 21 June 2012 
		
	
	The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) publishes an annual safety review. This includes statistics on European and worldwide civil aviation safety which are grouped according to type of operation, for instance commercial air transport, and aircraft category, such as aeroplanes, helicopters and gliders. The annual safety review can be found at
	http://easa.europa.eu/communications/docs/annual-safety-review/2010/EASA-Annual-Safety-Review-2010.pdf

Bus Services: Finance

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which bus companies her Department subsidises in the West Midlands; and what funding it provided to each such company in each of the last two years.

Norman Baker: I am assuming the question refers to Bus Service Operators Grant.
	The Department does not hold this information in the form requested. However, the following links provide information on payments made to individual operators (in alphabetical order) up to (i) 31 March 2010 and (ii) 31 March 2011.
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110504135837/http:/www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/busgrants/bsog/661224
	http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/bsog-grants-paid-to-20120331/bsog-grants-paid-2011.pdf

Cars: Exhaust Emissions

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cars with tailpipe carbon emissions below 110g/km were sold in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011; and what estimate she has made of the likely number of such cars to be sold in each of the next three years.

Norman Baker: During 2010, 148,617 new cars with tailpipe CO2 emissions under 110 g/km were registered for the first time in Great Britain. The corresponding number for 2011 was 247,425. Additional cars with tailpipe emissions under 110 g/km would have been registered for the first time during 2010 and 2011 but these vehicles would have been used imports or re-registrations.
	Cars with tailpipe emissions under 110 g/km accounted for 7.5 per cent of all the new cars registered for the first time in 2010. This rose to 13 per cent in 2011.
	The Department for Transport has not made any specific forecasts of the number of such vehicles that are likely to be registered for the first time in future years, although we are confident the number will grow.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes in staffing levels have been made by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in the last 12 months.

Michael Penning: The following table shows the changes in staffing levels by month during the last financial year:
	
		
			 Month Full-time equivalents 
			 2011  
			 April 5,558.8 
			 May 5,540.1 
			 June 5,534.2 
			 July 5,524.1 
			 August 5,503.3 
			 September 5,529.5 
			 October 5,544.1 
			 November 5,537.9 
			 December 5,529.4 
			   
			 2012  
			 January 5,499.7 
			 February 5,483.5 
			 March 5,469.3

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport where the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency call centres are located.

Michael Penning: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has one call centre which is located in Swansea.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much training Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency call centre agents receive before answering calls; and when that training was last updated.

Michael Penning: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency call centre agents undertake an initial eight-week training programme following their induction. This consists of two weeks theory, followed by three weeks of fully monitored telephone work in the live environment. This is followed by an additional three weeks training in a dedicated coaching environment. This is in a ratio of three trainees to one coach, where they are formally assessed on a weekly basis to ensure they attain the set standard before joining an operational team.
	A major review of the training programme was conducted in 2011 and it is continually updated to incorporate legislative and operational changes.

Government Procurement Card

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many procurement card holders in her Department were (a) paid off-payroll, (b) employed on a part-time basis and (c) employed as a non-permanent employee in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12;
	(2)  on which dates her Department has published Government procurement card spending over £500 since May 2010.

Norman Baker: The PAN Government Policy for GPC permits only permanent and fixed term members of staff to be issued with cards, and the Department fully complies with this policy. Consequently, neither paid off-payroll nor non-permanent employees are able to be GPC cardholders.
	The details of GPC cardholders who are employed on a part-time basis are not available as these details are not captured.
	The Department publishes Government Procurement Card spend over £500 at
	http://data.gov.uk/dataset/dft-gpc-spend
	in accordance with Cabinet Office (CO) guidelines.
	Data is currently available from April 2011, and is updated monthly.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department has considered introducing a central database to record the details of foreign registered vehicles that enter and operate in the UK.

Michael Penning: holding answer 25 June 2012
	No formal consideration has been given to introducing a central database to record the details of foreign registered vehicles that enter and operate in the UK. This would require consultation across Government. I do, of course, have informal discussions with my officials touching on all aspects of policy, including this.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effects on hauliers' carbon footprint of closures of authorised testing centres.

Michael Penning: For the purpose of the response we have taken "authorised testing centres" to mean authorised testing facilities (ATFs) which are privately owned testing stations.
	There are no plans to close any Authorised Testing Facilities (ATF) and to date no ATFs have closed.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many tests were cancelled at authorised testing centres in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: For the purpose of the response we have taken “authorised testing centres” to mean authorised testing facilities (ATFs) which are privately owned testing stations.
	Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's test booking system records the test results at ATFs but is unable to distinguish the number of cancelled tests, as ATFs book testing slots with VOSA, which may contain multiple tests, rather than individual tests. Management of test bookings is entirely within the control of the individual ATF.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many authorised testing centres closed in each of the last five years; and where they were located.

Michael Penning: For the purpose of the response we have taken “authorised testing centres” to mean authorised testing facilities (ATFs) which are privately owned testing stations.
	No ATFs have closed since the introduction of these facilities in February 2010.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints were received about the level and quality of service at authorised testing centres in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: For the purpose of the response we have taken “authorised testing centres” to mean authorised testing facilities (ATFs) which are privately owned testing stations.
	Vehicle and Operator Services Agency has received one complaint about the level of service at an ATF and this was in 2012.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average waiting time was for tests for each category of vehicle at each authorised testing centre in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: For the purpose of the response we have taken “authorised testing centres” to mean authorised testing facilities (ATFs) which are privately owned testing stations.
	VOSA does not record test waiting times at ATFs as management of test bookings is entirely within the control of the individual ATF.

Pay

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) highest, (b) median, (c) median full-time equivalent and (d) lowest full-time equivalent salary was paid by (i) her Department and (ii) its public bodies in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13.

Norman Baker: The table below shows the highest, median, median full-time equivalent and the lowest full-time equivalent salary paid by the Department for Transport and its public bodies in each of the last 4 financial years.
	
		
			 £ 
			   Highest Median Median FTE Lowest FTE 
			 2009-10 Department for Transport 179,655 36,960 36,960 12,041 
			  Public Bodies 350,000 66,560 66,560 15,053 
			       
			 2010-11 Department for Transport 179,655 37,840 37,840 12,041 
			  Public Bodies 350,000 62,264 62,264 15,204 
			       
			 2011-12 Department for Transport 170,000 38,720 38,720 12,291 
			  Public Bodies 250,000 51,282 53,098 13,946 
			       
			 2012-13 Department for Transport 165,000 38,720 38,720 12,541 
			  Public Bodies 250,000 54,166 54,166 13,946

Railways

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information her Department holds on the implementation of National Rail's tree clearance programme in relation to (a) environmental assessments and (b) community consultations; what estimate she has made of the number of trees that have been felled in the last five years; how many such trees were felled during bird breeding seasons; on how many occasions British Transport Police have investigated complaints relating to tree felling; what estimate she has made of the total area of trees to be felled in the next five years; what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the programme; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested. Network Rail is a private sector company limited by guarantee, and tree and vegetation management on the rail network is an operational matter for the company.
	It is important for Network Rail to engage with local communities affected by the company's vegetation management policy and this is an issue I have raised with the company.
	Information in relation to tree felling complaints investigated by the BTP is not held by the Department for Transport but by the BTP, who can be contacted at:
	British Transport Police
	25 Camden Road
	London
	NW1 9LN
	e-mail: parliament@btp.pnn.police.uk

Railways: Electrification

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had on electrifying the railway between the East Coast Main Line at Northallerton and Middlesbrough station.

Theresa Villiers: We have asked Network Rail to carry out an assessment of the cost and business case for electrifying the line between Northallerton and Middlesbrough and the results are expected soon.

Railways: Safety

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contribution her Department is making to the Rail Safety and Standards Board's re-writing of railway safety rules; what the timetable is for the re-write; how and when the revised rules will come into effect; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The RSSB (formerly the Rail Standards and Safety Board) is responsible for facilitating the work of the Industry Standards Committees that determine the Railway Group Standards, including the Rule Book. These committees are subject to processes that determine the industry consultations required and the timescale for introduction of any revision.
	The role of the Department for Transport (DFT) is limited in this context. DFT officials are observers at the RSSB Standards Committees that manage Railway Group Standards. The Department is also consulted on significant changes as part of the industry wide process.
	A schedule of the RSSB's review of the Rule Book is available on their website at
	http://www.rssb.co.uk/RGS/Pages/rulebookandnational.aspx
	The RSSB should be contacted directly for further information on their standards processes.

School Crossing Patrols

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether her Department issues guidance on the criteria for determining when school crossing patrols could be implemented by local highway authorities; and when the minimum national requirements for a school crossing patrol staffed by volunteers are to be introduced.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not issue guidance on criteria for determining when school crossing patrols could be implemented by local authorities.
	The Road Traffic Regulation of 1984 delegates power to local authorities to make arrangements for patrolling places where children cross roads on their way to or from school, but does not impose a duty on them to do so.
	The Department has no plans to introduce a minimum national requirement for a school crossing patrol staffed by volunteers.

Transport: Rural Areas

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department plans to take to improve transport links in rural areas.

Norman Baker: The responsibility for local transport links in rural areas lies with the local transport authorities, who are able to use the Integrated Transport capital funding provided by Government to improve transport links in their rural areas.
	In March I published ‘Green Light for Buses’ which includes the commitment to support local transport authorities in their ability to procure non-commercial services, including more flexible, innovative options such as community buses.
	In December 2011 I announced a second £10m tranche of the Supporting Community Transport Fund for local authorities in rural areas to help kick-start schemes where commercial services are not profitable and local transport authorities have chosen not to fund services under the powers available to them.
	Some of the Local Authority Major Transport Schemes being funded by the Government will improve links to, through and between rural areas. In addition, the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) attracted successful bids supporting schemes that improve transport links in rural areas.
	We also support community rail schemes and many of the 32 lines or services designated under the Community Rail Development Strategy serve rural areas.
	The Coalition Government plans to publish a Rural Statement shortly.

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's budget was allocated to (a) testing and (b) enforcement in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The total costs allocated to VOSA Testing and Enforcement for the past five years has been:
	
		
			 Testing 
			  £ million 
			 2007-08 69.9 
			 2008-09 69.8 
			 2009-10 59.1 
			 2010-11 52.1 
			 2011-12 51.9 
		
	
	
		
			 Enforcement 
			  £ million 
			 2007-08 32.3 
			 2008-09 44.8 
			 2009-10 49.4 
			 2010-11 42.3 
			 2011-12 39.0